[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
A grieving mother has been found dead off a major interstate highway just days after her beloved 3-year-old daughter was killed in a suspicious house fire.
Danielle Parnell was found dead on Tuesday just off Interstate 95 in Cecil County, Maryland by a construction crew that had been working in the area. Police are now investigating the 30-year-old’s death as a homicide, according to news reports, and they are actively working to gain more information on the circumstances behind her passing.
In addition to Parnell’s tragic and untimely end, police are investigating the death of her 3-year-old daughter, My’royal Bennett. The little girl was found dead in the basement of a home in southwest Baltimore on Friday of last week — just days before her mother’s passing.
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Cops have already ruled the toddler’s death to be a homicide. According to the Baltimore Sun, investigators say the child died in a fire in the basement of that home, but the cause of the blaze and the alleged perpetrator of the act remain unknown. Now, with Parnell having died suspiciously as well, police are doubling down on their search for leads in this concerning case.
According to WJZ, neighbors were shocked at the toddler’s passing, and were heartbroken about Parnell’s situation in the days leading up to her death — and afterwards. One neighbor told the TV news outlet that they had seen a moving truck outside Parnell’s home days before the house fire last week, but didn’t think much of it at the time:
“[Parnell] was a single mom with two kids, but I thought she had moved, so I don’t know. She had just stopped working out at the airport and she was looking for another job.”
While homicide investigators have sprung into action, Maryland State Police officials say there have been no arrests made yet in the case. They released a brief statement to media outlets, saying:
“[We] are working to determine a nexus and motive between the two homicides. No suspects have been identified at this time.”
One friend of Panrell’s named Myesha Little spoke to the Baltimore Sun about the void left behind following the two shocking deaths.
Explaining that she grew up with Parnell when the two were children in Cincinnati, Ohio, the grieving friend shared that she had been planning to visit Danielle in Baltimore this summer, and added:
“That was my best friend. What happened to her and my god daughter. I don’t know how to feel but I’m just hurt and upset and confused, Make sure you let everyone know that I loved her very much. She loves her babies. It still hasn’t hit me that they are gone.”
Another friend, who told the newspaper he wished to remain anonymous amid the uncertainty, added:
“My God, I need a drink. That breaks my heart. … I know I have a tough-guy exterior, but if you could see inside of me right now, I’m torn up. She loved that little girl to death. They were never apart.”
So awful.
Here is more on the investigation, from WJZ (below):
Our hearts go out to all of Parnell and Bennett’s friends, family members, and loved ones.
We hope the police are able to quickly and definitively find answers and seek justice in this tragic case.
R.I.P.
[Image via WJZ/YouTube]
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