A woman from Bellingham, Washington, has been accused of killing her boyfriend's 3-year-old daughter, Hazel Homan. Police said that Homan suffered horrible abuse for months before she was killed, but 27-year-old Kamee Dixon ultimately committed her final act of violence by shaking Homan to death.
Dixon made her first appearance in court on December 6, a little more than a week after calling 911 call from the home where she was watching the toddler.
Dixon called police November 27 about a possible pediatric cardiac arrest, according to a press release published on the City of Bellingham's website. Allegedly Dixon, who had been watching Homan alone while the girl's father, Brandon Homan, was at work, told dispatchers that she believed the 3-year-old was choking on something.
When the pair arrived at the ER, the girl was first treated for hypothermia, but medical staff determined something else was wrong.
After examining Homan, doctors at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center realized she had a brain bleed, so she was transferred to Harborview Medical Center for further treatment.
On November 29, doctors at the second facility determined that Homan had suffered from "bilateral subdural hemorrhages consistent with shaken baby syndrome," which the Mayo Clinic describes as "a serious brain injury resulting from forcefully shaking an infant or toddler."
Medical staff noted that Homan had no signs of choking, but they found bruises on her neck, chin, chest, and groin area, Q13 Fox reported. Her body temperature was only 86 degrees, and she had a cigarette burn on her body, according to People. Homan died the next day, November 30.
The little girl had been living with her dad and his girlfriend since June. Homan's autopsy showed signs of longterm abuse.
A King County Medical Examiner found multiple broken bones that were in the process of healing.
There were other signs, later revealed in court documents, that Homan had been suffering from abuse. On August 3, a relative who had been babysitting photographed suspicious bruising and a healing cigarette burn on the girl's body. Later that month, a friend saw Dixon punish Homan for wetting herself by placing her in a cold shower.
On October 2, Homan burned her hand but didn't receive medical attention until almost a week later. Weeks after that, she returned the doctor's office again for a chemical burn to her eye.
Police say they used medical records, Child Protectives Services referrals, and the eyewitness accounts to deduce the abuse case, and things pointed toward Dixon after it was clear Homan had been solely in her care at the time of her fatal injury.
Dixon was arrested December 5 in connection with Homan's murder, and is charged with second-degree murder and homicide by abuse, Q13 reported. For now, Dixon remains in prison on $1 million bail.
Meanwhile, Homan's father said he doesn't believe Dixon is to blame for his daughter's death.
"This is a tragic situation," he said. "I just, more than anyone, I am the father. It's my baby girl, I want answers too. But don't place blame."
