Father, ex-girlfriend charged in relation to death of 5-year-old

INDIANAPOLIS -- Two people have been officially charged in connection with the death of 5-year-old Zara Arnold.




On Thursday, 41-year-old Zachary Arnold was officially charged with murder in Marion County surrounding the death.

According to court documents, 30-year-old Andrea Lopez-Figueroa was also charged with one count of assisting a criminal when the criminal committed murder, a Level 5 felony, and a misdemeanor count of failure to report a crime. In the court documents, Lopez-Figueroa was identified by police as Arnold's ex-girlfriend but not Zara Arnold's mother.








On Monday, Zara Arnold was located inside a home on the 200 block of N Lasalle Street and was pronounced dead. After initially claiming that she fell down the stairs, Zachary Arnold reportedly confessed to choking his daughter.




According to previous reports, Zachary Arnold reportedly abused his daughter multiple times over the last few years. Zachary Arnold had a history of allegations of child abuse, child molestation, violating no contact orders and raping the victim's mother.




The court documents allege that Lopez-Figueroa concealed evidence and did not call 911 for help "with the intent to hinder the apprehension or punishment of Zachary Arnold" as he committed the crime.




Chris Bailey, the chief with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, and Ryan Mears, the Marion County prosecutor, are expected to talk about these charges on Thursday.




This story will be updated as more information becomes available.





via: https://fox59.com/news/indycrime/father-ex-girlfriend-charged-in-relation-to-death-of-5-year-old/