S.C. 11-year-old beaten in front of other children as parents stood by, arrest warrants show

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — At the time Camisha McGaskey was allegedly beating 11-year-old A’kyri Bell and other minors inside a Carolina Forest home, multiple people stood by and did nothing — sometimes as their own children watched, newly released arrest warrants show.

McGaskey, who is charged with murder in Bell’s death along with multiple felonies, including human trafficking, used her hands and feet along with other weapons to beat her and the other children, the documents show.

Bell died June 13 at a Carolina Forest hospital of head injuries after being taken from a Sago Palm Drive home, authorities said. Police initially arrested 31-year-old McGaskey, the girl’s guardian and a distant cousin, with obstruction of justice, before upgrading the charge to murder.

The Horry County Coroner’s Office on June 17 said Bell died of blunt force trauma and labeled her death a homicide.

Warrants issued in June said authorities found “physical evidence to include mops, towels, and bedding were located in trash bags inside of the home by HCPD Crime Scene Investigators that did test presumptively positive for blood.”

The warrants released to News13 on Wednesday indicate McGaskey delivered the beatings that also included a 15-year-old boy between Jan. 1 and June 11. Her 2-year-old child was among several children, including a 3-year-old and a 14-year-old, who were in the home when some of the beatings took place.

News13 in June spoke to McGaskey shortly after Bell’s death, who claimed racial profiling led to her arrest.

“I feel like they see the color of our skin and immediately we did something to the little girl,” she said. “And it was disgusting.” 

Bell lived in the Sago Drive home with seven other siblings, and McGaskey said she had a history of fainting spells. 

“I sent her upstairs to take a bath with her sister,” McGaskey said. “Like 20 minutes later, her sister called and said she passed out. I went up there to provide aid for her, and as soon as I found out that she was unconscious, I dialed 911, I called the police.”

The following people have been charged with unlawful conduct toward a child in connection with Bell’s death for allegedly being present for the beatings and failing to report them to authorities, the warrants say:

• Lakesha Burnett, 34, (two counts)
• Alantis Thomas, 21, (two counts)
• Darnell Dearmas, 20, (one count)
• Margaret Roberson, 56, (three counts)
• Camisha McGaskey, 31, (three counts)

Police said Tuesday a sixth person, who has not been identified, is expected to face the same charges. McGaskey and Roberson remain in custody at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center after also being charged by SLED with five counts of trafficking in persons.

Burnett, Dearmas, Roberson and Thomas “failed to take reasonable steps to intervene, prevent further injury or report the abuse to the appropriate authorities,” warrants say. Their “willful inaction placed the child at an ongoing and unreasonable risk of harm and contributed to the circumstances that led to a homicide.”

Earlier arrest warrants accuse Burnett, Thomas and Roberson of obstructing justice when they “prevented, impeded, or interfered a law enforcement investigation by providing known false statements and attempting to obscure and destroy evidence related to the death of a juvenile victim.”

Horry County Police Chief Kris Leonhardt, addressed the case in a statement after McGaskey’s arrest in June.

“The death of a child is a tragedy. A’Kyri was just 11 years old, and she deserved the same opportunities as all children — to live, learn, and grow — and that was cut short at the hands of others,” Leonhardt said. “I’m proud of the hard work our officers and detectives have put into this case, and will be watching with interest as this progresses through the courts.”