Last summer, Mary Lockett laid on top of her four-year-old daughter, and then covered her nose and mouth with her hands. She slowly smothered the tot to death, under the supposed hallucination of a "dark angel," appearing before her. She also told authorities that she killed her daughter because "God" told her to.
It's always tragic when a child is murdered by their own parent, but the most tragic part about this case is that it could have been totally prevented. Illinois Department of Children and Family Services had encountered Lockett and her children at least 10 times prior to the senseless murder of the four-year-old girl. Over the course of the many incidents, it was clear that all five children in the home were in danger. Illinois DCF acknowledges that more could have been done to prevent the death of Emily Rose Perrin.