A disturbing case has emerged from California, where a mother has been charged with murder after allegedly drowning her wheelchair-bound, 9-year-old daughter in a bathtub. The mother, identified as Khadiyjah Aliyyah Pendergraph, 32, was charged on Tuesday with one felony count of murder. The tragic incident took place in their Westminster apartment and the girl’s body was left in the bathtub for several days.
The victim, named Victoria, was confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak. Pendergraph was arrested in a grocery store parking lot in Aliso Viejo on the same day her daughter’s decomposing body was discovered. Police had conducted a welfare check on the girl following concerning messages received from her father, who had called to report his daughter missing.
The District Attorney’s Office revealed that the girl’s father attempted to pick her up on Thanksgiving as scheduled, but found the apartment door locked with no response. It was then that he alerted the police. Pendergraph later claimed to have attempted suicide multiple times in the days following her daughter’s death.
This heartbreaking case has shocked the community, with Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer expressing deep sorrow over the tragedy. He stated, “While families across America sat down to Thanksgiving dinner with their loved ones, this little disabled girl’s lifeless body was left to rot in a bathtub after being drowned by her own mother. Words simply do not exist to express the utter heartbreak knowing this little girl could not even scream for help as her mother pushed her underwater and cut her life so tragically and so unnecessarily short.”
If convicted, Pendergraph faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life. This devastating incident serves as a reminder of the importance of protecting the most vulnerable members of society.
