‘Help us’: Boy’s plea on Post-it note uncovers abuse by his father’s girlfriend who smothered him during beating, police say

A Florida woman was accused of abusing her boyfriend’s children after one of the kids left behind a Post-it note that read, “Pleas help us.”

Katrina Carrillo, 25, posted bail after being booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami on Wednesday. According to court records, she was ordered by a judge to stay away from the children, who alleged that she had abused them. WPLG, a local ABC affiliate, obtained police reports that stated

The investigation into Carrillo began in March, when her boyfriend’s 9-year-old son left behind a pink Post-it note pleading for help, according to police reports obtained by WPLG, a local ABC affiliate.

According to WPLG, the note was left on March 4, but it was unclear where it was left and who was the first to read it. However, it was enough for someone to alert the Florida Department of Children and Families, which stepped in to get the boy and his brother away from Carrillo, WPLG reported.

The 9-year-old boy who left the note spoke with forensic interviewers, the police report stated. During that interview, the boy claimed that Carrillo allegedly pinned him to the ground and beat him, then tried to smother him with a blanket and a pillow over his face. The boy reportedly told the interviewer that it felt like he “was not breathing.”

When police met with Carrillo at the Miami Police Department headquarters, she reportedly denied the accusations. According to the report, she told officers that “she disciplines her children and not her boyfriend’s.”

Despite her denial, Carillo was arrested and prosecutors charged her with felony child abuse. Carrillo posted $5,000 bail the same day and was released from custody. She appeared in court on Thursday and was instructed to stay away from her boyfriend’s children.

Carrillo retained a defense attorney, but her next court date was not made available.

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The post ‘Help us’: Boy’s plea on Post-it note uncovers abuse by his father’s girlfriend who smothered him during beating, police say first appeared on Law & Crime.