DeKalb mom Meriel Bemis charged in toddler's death

A suburban Atlanta mother stands accused of murdering her three-year-old daughter.
Meriel Bemis, 21, who lives in DeKalb County, was arrested early Monday moing after her boyfriend called 911 Sunday night when he found the girl dead in Bemis’ apartment.

Details surrounding the girl’s death are scarce. Authorities have only identified her as Lela Bemis, WSB reported.

No information about the cause of her death has yet been released, and a message left with DeKalb County Police was not immediately retued.

Meriel Bemis was home alone with the child, according to the station, and frantically called her boyfriend saying the child was lifeless.
He called 911 when he arrived just before midnight Sunday. Police told the Atlanta Joual-Constitution that he does not face any charges over her death.

The young mother's Facebook and Google Plus profiles say she was studying dance at Mt San Jacinto College, in Califoia, but the last dance-related posting appears during what would have been the fall 2013 semester.

Several pictures depict a loving mother-daughter relationship, and show her with an unidentified man presumably her boyfriend.

Her Pinterest profile says ‘I'm an artsy, snarky, classy, dancing mommy :),’ and shows off her cooking, arts and crafts and dance interest.

Outwardly she was the picture of a perfect mother, but it appears something went terribly wrong over the weekend.

Meriel Bemis’ last pictures posted to Facebook only three days ago don’t show anything out of the ordinary, only the same smiles and goofy faces as all the other snaps.
They are a far cry from the desheveled woman shown in the mug shot taken early Monday moing.

It is not clear if the boyfriend, who has not been identified, is baby’s father. Also not known is what prompted the mother to leave school and move to Atlanta.

Police arrested Meriel Bemis, charged her with murder and booked her into the county jail just before 6:30 am Monday, according to court records.

No bail has been set.