Mother blames ‘evil presence’ for daughter’s death

By Jackie Valley

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 | 11:42 a.m.

On the day of her death, 6-year-old Kyla Franks’ mother kept her home from daycare because of a perceived “evil presence,” according to details in an arrest report released Tuesday.

By Sunday evening, Kyla was dead, and police arrested her mother, 27-year-old Danielle Slaughter, a short time later in connection with her death.

Slaughter was taken to Valley Hospital on Sunday after police found her near Vegas Drive and Decatur Boulevard running naked and with blood on her hands, which she told officers came from the “Lamb of God,” according to the arrest report.

Meanwhile, Ashton Lyken, who identified himself as Slaughter’s boyfriend, called police at 8:55 p.m. Sunday to a home in the 1600 block of Palmae Way, where he said he found the child’s body in the master bedroom, according to the arrest report.

Responding medical personnel pronounced Kyla dead. Detectives noted in the report that the girl likely died from stab wounds to the neck from scissors, which were found near her body.

Lyken told detectives Slaughter called him to say Kyla was dead, but Slaughter was nowhere to be found when Lyken arrived home and found the child’s body, according to the arrest report.

Detectives took Slaughter into custody at the hospital and transported her to Metro’s headquarters for questioning, police said.

Slaughter said she called Kyla into a bedroom when another roommate arrived home, prompting the girl to question why she had to be in the room instead of watching television, according to the arrest report.

When Kyla began “laughing in an evil voice,” Slaughter told detectives she picked up a pair of scissors and struck her daughter multiple times, according to the arrest report.

Slaughter, who said she recently began taking a dietary supplement, said the incident was out of character for her and repeatedly expressed disbelief that she killed her daughter, the arrest report states.

Slaughter blamed an “evil presence” she had been feeling in the house for several days, acknowledging the need to remove evil from the dwelling, according to the arrest report.

Police arrested Slaughter in connection with murder with a deadly weapon and transported her to the Clark County Detention Center, where she is being held without bail, according to jail records.