A morbidly obese woman from Florida in the U.S. is suspected of killing her nine-year-old cousin after sitting on her for more than 10 minutes as "punishment".
According to Pensacola News Journal, Veronica Green Posey (64), who weighs in at 150kg, was on Monday released on bail of $125,000 (R1.7-million) after being charged with homicide and cruelty.
The parents of young Dericka Lindsay -- Joan Smith and James Smith -- have been charged with child negligence and are in custody. Reports state that the parents called Posey to assist with disciplining Dericka.
The request led to Posey allegedly sitting on Dericka for 10 minutes before she complained that she couldn't breathe. Giving an account of the incident, James Smith said: "She stayed on the chair for an additional two minutes before getting up."
A statement issued by the secretary of the Florida department of children and families, Mike Carroll, described the death of Dericka as "appalling".
"As the family has [had] a prior interaction with the child welfare system; a thorough quality-assurance review will be conducted to review all prior interactions this family has had with the child welfare system," according to the statement.