Megachurch volunteer charged with murdering daughter

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SAN DIEGO — Mother and grandfather of 11-year-old California girl allegedly tortured and starved for years arrested and charged with murder, grandmother charged with abuse .

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Laetitia McCormack, 49, and her parents pleaded not guilty Wednesday in California Superior Court in the San Diego suburb of El Cajon.

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Prosecutors say McCormack and her parents, Adela and Stanley Thom, abused and tortured the girl and her two younger siblings, ages 6 and 7, for about five and a half years. Arabella, according to the complaint.

In addition to the ill-treatment and torture charges, McCormack and her father face additional charges of murder. will face punishment. Adela Thom faces her second life sentence.

Just before 2 a.m. on Aug. 30, an agent answered the distressed child’s call at McCormack’s home, according to the San Diego Sheriff’s Department. .

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After the deputies arrived at the house, they reached out to Brian McCormack, the girl’s father, a Border Patrol agent. He drove a car in front of them and opened fire, killing himself, the sheriff’s office said.

The couple became foster parents for the girl in 2017 and adopted her two years later. San Diego Union Tribunethe reporter spoke to the girl’s biological mother outside the courthouse on Wednesday.

Letitia McCormack and her parents were arrested Monday and remain in custody without bail.The victim’s brother is in foster care, according to the sheriff’s office.

Letitia McCormack taught a course called “Kingdom Life Encounters” on how to model one’s life after Jesus at a San Diego rock church founded by pastor and former NFL player Miles McPherson. I taught you.

The church said it has severed ties with McCormack, who has been an active volunteer at the church for more than a decade, performing administrative duties, coordinating events and other ministry activities.