Toddler's death sparks investigation in Fargo, North Dakota

15-month-old died after alleged abuse while in the care of a family friend.

November 28, 2020 at 3:10AM

The death of a 15-month-old girl in Fargo, N.D., this week has family members calling for justice and police still trying to find out what happened.

As of Friday, no one had been arrested in connection with the death of the toddler, identified by family as Meka Carrillo, who was found unconscious and unresponsive about 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 20 inside a residence in the 2300 block of S. 17th Street.

The girl was taken to a hospital and put on life support. Family members said they had the machines keeping her alive turned off four days later; the girl died just after 8 a.m. on Wednesday.

Fargo police confirmed the girl's death.

On a GoFundMe page, the girl's aunt said Meka had been placed with a temporary caretaker, somebody whom the family trusted.

But instead of being cared for, Meka "had been horribly abused," the posting reads.

Police are awaiting results of an autopsy and toxicology tests to determine whether a crime has been committed, Fargo police said in a statement.

Detectives have been working closely with the family, Fargo police said.

The fundraiser has a goal of $10,000. The girl's family said money raised will be used to cover funeral expenses, hospital bills and counseling for Meka's family. The money also will be used to hire an attorney, the posting said.

"I don't know how human beings could be so cruel and heartless; there were numerous people that knew what was going on during the days that the abuse was being carried out and failed to reach out to the right people and just allowed the torture to continue," Meka's aunt, Amanda Carrillo, wrote.

"I want justice to be served for my niece, and not only prosecute the people that tortured and killed her, but I want to have lawyers to prosecute the people that knew about the abuse and stood by doing nothing."

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about the writer

Tim Harlow

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Tim Harlow covers traffic and transportation issues in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and likes to get out of the office, even during rush hour. He also covers the suburbs in northern Hennepin and all of Anoka counties, plus breaking news and weather.

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