HOUSTON – Houston homicide detectives confirm Amber Keys, the mother of a severely handicapped 9-year-old girl found dead Monday in a deserted apartment in southwest Houston, voluntarily turned herself into detectives Tuesday evening.
Police have not said if any charges will be filed.
The body of Ayahna Comb was found wrapped in blankets in the kitchen of an apartment she shared with her mother and 5-year-old sister in the 10100 block of Club Creek Drive.
Investigators said she may have been dead for days. Results of an autopsy performed Tuesday to determine when and how she died have not been released.
The girl's father said she suffered from cerebral palsy. He said his ex-girlfriend -- the girl's mother, Amber Keys -- was her sole caregiver.
"I have a lot of questions, man," Armand Combs said, fighting back tears. "I just want to know what happened. How did you get in that situation and how did she die?"
Comb said he last talked with Keys Monday before the child's body was discovered. He said Keys called before leaving their youngest daughter with his mother for a visit.
"I talked to her yesterday," he said. "But she talked about her (Ayahna) like she was there with her."
Comb said the little girl was so severely disabled she could not feed, clothe or care for herself. Family friend Henry Cosey said the 9-year-old was totally helpless, and usually confined to her bed.
"The child couldn't do anything on her own," Cosey said. "She was completely unable to do anything for herself. I know her mother fed her, but she was still bottle feeding her at 9 years old."
Investigators with Child Protective Services arrived at Comb's house Tuesday afternoon to question his 5-year-old daughter and then left with her. The girl is being placed temporarily with another relative.
Police found her sister's body after a concerned neighbor entered her mother's apartment through an unlocked door and found the child's body. He called the Houston Fire Department. Firefighters notified police.
The investigation is pending the child's cause of death, to be determined by an autopsy by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
Anyone with information in this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600.