© 2010 The Associated Press

Feb. 5, 2010, 9:05AM

HOUSTON — A Houston woman is accused of starving her 8-year-old daughter, who weighed just 15 pounds when she died in January 2009, Child Protective Services said.

CPS spokeswoman Estella Olguin says Almita Nicole Lockhart, 34, is accused of neglecting Halle Smith, who was unresponsive when she was taken to a hospital.

The girl, who was born prematurely, suffered a stroke and had other health issues that required her to be fed through a tube, said Olguin.

Harris County Sheriff's Office electronic records showed Lockhart was jailed Friday on a charge of injury to a child by omission. Bail was $30,000 for Lockhart, who was booked Tuesday.

Jail records had no listing of an attorney for Lockhart. Her next court date is Feb. 24.

The Harris County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the girl's death a homicide. Lockhart was arrested this week once an autopsy and further investigation led authorities to believe the girl's condition was intentionally inflicted, according to Olguin.

Lockhart allegedly kept the girl in an empty apartment and apparently did not feed her, investigators said.

"The medical examiner said her death was a homicide and said it was due to malnutrition and dehydration," district attorney's spokeswoman Donna Hawkins said.

A 2006 CPS home visit found the girl weighed about 46 pounds, said Olguin, but at some point Lockhart apparently stopped receiving in-home care for Halle.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6852740.html

Emphasis added by H4K Editor