Black woman blamed racism after being arrested for death of 11-year-old girl — police say the truth is far more ‘horrific’

An investigation by South Carolina police led to the arrest of five people in relation to the brutal beating and death of 11-year-old A’Kyri Bell in June.

The girl was hospitalized after her 31-year-old guardian, Camisha McGaskey, called police to her Carolina Forest home on Sago Palm Drive. She later died at the hospital, and the Horry County Coroner’s Office labeled the death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma.

‘I feel like they see the color of our skin, and immediately we did something to the little girl. And it was disgusting.’

McGaskey accused the police of racism after they arrested her in relation to the girl’s death.

“I feel like they see the color of our skin, and immediately we did something to the little girl,” she said to WBTW-TV. “And it was disgusting.”

She went on to explain her version of what happened to Bell.

“I sent her upstairs to take a bath with her sister,” McGaskey said. “Like 20 minutes later, her sister called and said she passed out. I went up there to provide aid for her, and as soon as I found out that she was unconscious, I dialed 911; I called the police.”

She also said that police cursed at them and accused them of trafficking after commenting about how they could afford cars and the home.

“And they told me for a fact, ‘I’m going to charge you with something because I know you’re not telling me the truth,'” she said. “‘I don’t know what it is, but I’m going to charge you with something. You’re going to go to jail for something.’ Just like they’re going to find something to charge me with.”

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Police initially charged McGaskey, 21-year-old Alantis Thomas, and 34-year-old Lakesha Burnett with obstruction of justice for allegedly making false statements to police, as well as obscuring evidence. They were booked and released on a $5,000 bond with home detention.

Police said HCPD Crime Scene Investigators found that “mops, towels, and bedding were located in trash bags inside of the home,” and when they were tested, the items were presumptively positive for blood.

McGaskey also said the Department of Social Services had taken seven children from the home.

Very soon afterward, McGaskey was charged with murder, and police said she was guilty of a “horrific crime.”

Prosecutors allege that McGaskey brutally beat Bell in front of other adults who did nothing to help the child. The beatings were also allegedly committed in front of other children in the home.

McGaskey, Burnett, and Thomas were charged with unlawful conduct toward a child, and two others were also charged with the same: 20-year-old Darnell Dearmas and 56-year-old Margaret Roberson.

McGaskey and Roberson are also charged with human trafficking.

“The death of a child is a tragedy. A’Kyri was just 11 years old, and she deserved the same opportunities as all children — to live, learn, and grow — and that was cut short at the hands of others,” said Horry County Police Chief Kris Leonhardt. “I’m proud of the hard work our officers and detectives have put into this case, and will be watching with interest as this progresses through the courts.”

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