'They seemed to be a caring, loving family': Mother, Grandmother Accused Of Starving Toddler To Death

A toddler was found dead in a North Carolina hotel room, and the child’s mother and grandmother are both under arrest in connection to the case.

Shortly after 3 p.m. on May 2, Asheville police said officers called to the Rodeway Inn found a 3-year-old boy who appeared to be severely malnourished dead, WLOS reported.

According to warrants, the alleged victim’s mother, Chantrarica Nasha Matthews, 29, and grandmother, 50-year-old Inga Torrence Matthews, face charges of first-degree murder, felony child abuse, and concealment of death.

A warrant states the two women, who reportedly had been living in the hotel for six months, starved the child “with malice aforethought.”

The pair were being held without bond for murder and on a $95,000 bond on the abuse charge.

“They never gave me any problems,” Rodeway Inn manager Marc Rosenbalm told WLOS, explaining he only called police after the two suspects were supposed to check out but didn’t pay for their final night and refused to open their door. “They seemed to be a caring, loving family.”

“I never heard him crying,” he added of the child. “I never heard the child scream.”