Court documents: Parents tried to stage 10-year-old’s death

BELFAST, Maine (WGME) — Accused of physically abusing a young child for months and even trying to stage her death, the parents of a 10-year-old girl are now charged with murder.

The horrific details in Stockton Springs are now being revealed in court documents.

Julio and Sharon Carrillo are behind bars at the Waldo County Jail.

Court documents allege the couple confessed to killing Sharon’s daughter Marissa and then tried to cover it up, after months of horrific abuse.

State police say it was inside a Stockton Springs condo, where 10-year-old Marissa Kennedy underwent months of brutal abuse at the hands of her mother and stepfather, before her murder Sunday.

Court records alleged her parents beat her almost every day for months, forcing her to kneel on a tile floor and raise her hands above her head while they struck her in the chest and stomach with a belt to punish her.

The documents also allege Marissa was locked in a closet as another form of “punishment.”

The condo is owned by Sharon Carrillo’s parents, who live in New York. They didn’t respond to calls for comment Tuesday.

Neighbors, who didn’t want to show their faces, say the family was rarely seen after they moved in last September, but court paperwork says the couple had a history of domestic violence and were seen fighting in their driveway.

After police were called to the home Sunday, documents allege the couple lied to police and set up their basement to make it look like Marissa had died from an accident, but both her mother and stepfather later confessed that Marissa was so badly beaten she could barely walk and her speech was slurred in the days leading up to her death.

The Carrillos also have a 1- and a 2-year-old. Both are fine but are now in DHHS custody.

Julio and Sharon Carrillo made their first court appearance Tuesday afternoon. Bail was set at $500,000 cash for both. They are also not allowed to have contact with children under 15.