Couple charged with murder of 3-year-old girl

This story is an updated version of an earlier story

OREGON CITY, Ore. - A man and his fiancée appeared in court Monday and were charged with murdering the man’s 3-year-old daughter after police said the girl died from starvation and physical abuse over the weekend.

Donald L. Cockrell, 27, appeared via video link in a Clackamas County courtroom and was charged with murdering his daughter Alexis Pounder. Cockrell's fiancée, 24-year-old Michelle Nicole Smith, also was charged after Clackamas County deputies found the girl dead at the couple’s home in Sandy Saturday night.

According to court documents, prosecutors also alleged the couple tortured Alexis’ 2-year-old sister.

Police said neither Cockrell nor Smith has a criminal record.

Autopsy results released Monday morning said Alexis died of “physical and nutritional child abuse.”

By phone Alexis’s maternal grandmother said the autopsy report showed Alexis had no food in her stomach when she died and she was beaten to death. The grandmother said she saw no signs of abuse before the incident. However, she said she and her daughter had suspicions something may be going on.

She said the last time she saw Alexis was in November. Since then, she said Cockrell had not allowed her daughter - Alexis' birth mother - or her family to see Alexis.

MySpace pictures of the girl and her father showed happier times and when asked outside the courthouse if she knew what happened to change the relationship, Cockrell’s mother said, “I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t think people should speculate until we know what’s going on. Let’s just wait until we find out what’s going on.”

Alexis’s mother’s family also said they did not want to comment. Both families said they wanted time to sort things out before they talk about the death of Alexis.

Court records show Cockrell filed for custody of Alexis and her 2-year-old sister in July and was awarded physical custody last month.

Several people live in the home, including Smith’s parents, who live apart from their daughter on a separate level of the house.

Alexis’s sister, a baby born to Smith and Cockrell, and two other children are now in the custody of the Department of Human Services.