On Tuesday, a New York father was arrested and charged with the murder of his 7-year-old daughter, Gabrielle, shortly after the body was discovered by her babysitter, Tonelle Mahon.
Officials responded to a call from Mahon earlier that day, after the sitter found Gabrielle’s body inside the home. Prior to the discovery, Mahon said she spoke to the father, who has been identified as Neil White, 47, via text messages before she stopped by. When Mahon arrived, the blinds were drawn and the house was dark. When she went inside, she began calling out for Gabrielle, prompting White to emerge from the room, bleeding. He then told her that the little girl was “in her room resting.”
When Mahon saw the blood on White’s wrists, she immediately left the scene to call the police and Gabrielle’s mother, NBC executive, Michelle Hord-White. According to reports, Michelle filed for divorce from White back in April but the two shared custody of the 2nd grader.
“No words could sum up all that Gabrielle meant to us but she was our light. We are broken and devastated that our sweet little girl is gone but we’re thankful that we had seven wonderful years with her,” the family said in a statement.
On Wednesday, White was arraigned on a second-degree murder charge, as officials believe Gabrielle was suffocated to death.
