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Former Olympic Volleyball Player Charged With The Murder Of Her 3-Year-Old Daughter

Numerous instances of external trauma on the toddler's body reportedly caused the death.

A former United States Olympic volleyball player has been indicted in Puerto Rico on both first-degree murder and child abuse charges.

The charges stem from the 2016 death of her adopted daughter. 37-year-old Kim Willoughby was indicted on Thursday (September 20), which comes just eight months after a judge originally declared that there wasn’t enough evidence to go to trial.

Willoughby told police she had been searching for a towel at around 9:45 on the day of her daughter’s death. She claims that Kailia, the young girl, slipped and hit her head in the shower and CPR was performed. The toddler was sadly pronounced dead however upon arrival at the Medical Center of Mayaguez.

During the investigation, it was found that the injuries sustained to Kailia were not consistent with what Willoughby told authorities.

“The Forensic Science report showed that the cause of death was not compatible with a fall. On the contrary, the cause of death was a severe corporal blow,” Janice Rodríguez, Commander of the Criminal Investigation Body of Mayaguez said at the time.

A new hearing was held on September 10, during which the doctor who performed Kailia’s autopsy took the stand to reveal the injury findings. The date of Willoughby’s trial start date was set for October 4, and it isn’t clear if she’s actually in custody. It has been reported that she is being held in lieu of a $200K bond.

Kim Willoughby won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She was living in Puerto Rico and playing professional volleyball for the Mayaguez Indias when the tragic incident occurred.

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