An Ohio man has been accused of allegedly beating his now deceased girlfriend and the mother of his children so severely that she was deemed “internally decapitated.” And now a police investigation has led to his arrest.
Mayzio Arnold, 25, was arrested and charged with murder on Wednesday, per a statement made by the Cincinnati Police.
Boyfriend Claimed His Girlfriend Overdosed, But Police Now Say He ‘Internally Decapitated’ Her
Investigators allege the suspect caused the injuries that led to the death of 24-year-old Deandrea Funchess. She was found unresponsive on February 15 in a Hartwell, Ohio home.
The alleged attack on Funchess, Arnold’s live-in girlfriend, was so intense, that it caused the ligaments of her spinal column to be separated from the base of her skull. This is an injury known as atlanto-occipital dislocation, according to court records obtained by WXIX.
It is alleged in the court filings that Arnold told authorities and Funchess’ family that she had died from a drug overdose. Police now believe that is no longer the case.
As a result, the investigation into the death of Funchess, a nursing home worker, continued. And eventually, medical examiners determined the cause of her death was homicidal violence.
Currently, Arnold is being held on $750,000 bail. He has not entered a plea to the single charge against him, and it was unclear on Friday who his attorney might be.
Funchess’ mother, Bernadette Davis, told WXIX that she and Arnold had continued speaking after her daughter’s death. She had no idea he was a suspect until she learned of his arrest.
“It’s really a shocker right now to find out that he’s responsible for this,” Davis said, adding Arnold’s suggestion Funchess died of a drug overdose “never sat right with me.”
“From day one, it never made sense to me,” the mom admitted in her interview.
Davis told the station that her daughter lived for her child. She wants people to know her daughter not only lit up every room she walked into but had turned her life around for her children’s sake.
The case is still being investigated, and those with any information about the attack that killed Funchess is urged to call 513-352-3542.
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