INDIANAPOLIS — After more than a year of investigating, an arrest has been made relating to the homicide death of a 1-year-old in an east side hotel room.
Erieomairy Dingui died after being found critically injured in a hotel room at the La Quinta Inn, located in the 2300 block of Post Drive, in May 2022.
This week, 24-year-old Iesha Bryant was arrested and charged with Murder, Aggravated Battery and Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Death.
According to court documents, officers were dispatched to the hotel at 12:33 a.m. on May 6, 2022.
Upon arrival, they located Dingui, who was unresponsive. She was transported to Riley Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Dingui had suffered visible trauma around her right eye, forehead and underneath her chin.
On April 30, 2022, Bryant and Dingui were involved in a car crash that left bruising around Dingui’s eyes.
During an autopsy, investigators with the Marion County Coroner’s Office determined Dingui’s death was a homicide. She had died from multiple blunt-force injuries that were not caused by the car accident.
Bryant is the girlfriend of Dingui’s mother.
According to court documents, Bryant was giving Dingui a bath. When they came out of the bathroom, Dingui was just standing in the doorway. Bryant had to nudge Dingui to get her to move.
While Dingui’s mother was in the shower, she heard a loud noise coming from the room. She asked what was wrong, and Bryant replied, ‘nothing.’
Court documents say Bryant and Dingui left the hotel room to heat food up. The mother says when they returned to the room, Dingui appeared to be asleep, so they laid her down for bed.
Dingui did not cry, wake up or use the restroom for the rest of the night, according to her mother.
Dingui’s mother woke up several hours later to find Bryant calling the child by her full name, which she rarely did.
The child’s mother told police that Bryant seemed “upset” that 911 was being called.
The child's mother also told police Bryant had anger issues and had become violent with both her and Dingui on multiple occasions.
Additionally, the child’s grandmother told police she had witnessed Bryant screaming and cussing at the baby and denied her a banana because she hadn’t asked to eat it first.
The child’s grandmother allegedly told DCS if they did not step in, the baby would die, according to court documents.
What to do if you suspect a child is being abused
If you suspect a child is victim of abuse or neglect, you’re required by law to report it to the Indiana Department of Child Services hotline at 1-800-800-5556.
The state receives 207,117 reports to the hotline in 2022, down from 231,091 reports in 2021.
When you call, a hotline worker enters your report into a case management system and determines if it meets the legal definition of abuse/neglect.
A hotline supervisor then reviews the report and sends it to a local DCS office who may “screen out” the report or assign it to a family case manager.
A family case manager contacts the family and must complete an assessment within 40 days.
As part of that investigation, the family case manager conducts interviews with potential victims and witnesses.
The family case manager will then substantiate abuse/neglect against the alleged perpetrator or unsubstantiate based on the preponderance of evidence.
If abuse is substantiated, DCS enters into a plan with the family or opens a Child In Need of Services (CHINS) case.
In most cases, DCS needs a court order to remove children from the home, child welfare experts tell WRTV.
The court can place them in foster care or keep them in the home with court-ordered services.
Parents have the right to have a detention hearing held by a court within 48 hours after the child’s removal from the home, and the right to request the return of the child at such hearing.
Once a child is removed, they become a ward of the state.
DCS can file a petition to terminate parental rights (TPR) when they are convinced that the birth parents will never complete required services.
By law, DCS is required to file a TPR when the child has been out of the home 15 of the most recent 22 months.
If a court terminates parental rights, the child can be adopted unless the parent appeals the ruling.
As WRTV has reported, 60 children died as a result of abuse and neglect in 2021.
A total of 271 child deaths were investigated by DCS; 281 deaths were investigated in 2020.
The full report can be found here.
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