TMZ: Actor's Daughter Charged In Death

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Woman Waited 2 Hours Before Calling For Help, Police Say

POSTED: Sunday, May 31, 2009
OCOEE, Fla. -- The oldest daughter of Billy Bob Thornton faces charges in the death of a 1-year-old girl she was babysitting in October, a celebrity gossip Web site reported Sunday.

Ocoee police confirmed that 29-year-old Amanda Brumfield is charged with child neglect causing harm or disability and was in custody.

Web site TMZ.com reported that Brumfield is Thornton's daughter, but police spokesman Lee Stephens said the police records department was closed Sunday and he couldn't find out whether Brumfield is related to Thornton.

Brumfield told detectives that a girl she was babysitting hit her head in a fall in an Ocoee home on Oct. 3, Detective James Berish said in a news release. Brumfield called for help more than two hours later when she couldn't revive the girl, police said.

An autopsy determined the girl had a fractured skull and brain injury. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide and said the explanation Brumfield gave was inconsistent with the child's injuries, police said.

Thornton's publicist Arnold Robinson said the actor has not had contact with Brumfield for quite some time.

He wouldn't confirm that Brumfield was the woman arrested, but that when Thornton was "informed about this situation" he commented that, "Anytime a baby's life is lost is an unimaginable tragedy and my heart goes out to the baby's family and loved ones."

Police did not know whether Brumfield had an attorney.

Heather Murphy, the victim's mother, said Brumfield, her former best friend, is not sorry about the incident.

"It's not fair she can go on with happy kids, that she can celebrate Mother's Day and I will cry on Mother's Day, October 4th. It's not fair," Murphy said. "She's not sorry. (She's) sorry she got caught, not sorry for what she did. If Amanda goes to jail, it doesn't make up for all the time I've missed, all the things I'm missing. No price is great enough to pay, but whatever happens, happens."

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.


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