PORTAGE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Police in Portage have announced the arrest of a 21-year-old woman in connection to the death of a 2-year-old girl left in her care.
The suspect has been named as Portage resident Tranaya Darnecia Spencer. She was arrested Tuesday around 3:30 p.m.
Police say the investigation began on March 13, 2020, when police and rescue personnel were called to an apartment in the 6000 block of Dove Court off of Milham Avenue in Portage.
Upon arrival, Portage officers found an unresponsive two-year-old girl lying unconscious on the bathroom floor. Officers immediately initiated CPR. Portage Fire/EMS personnel arrived on scene and took over life saving measures. The child was later transported to Bronson Methodist Hospital.
On March 17, the two-year-old was pronounced deceased. WOOD-TV has identified the toddler as 2-year-old Royalty Regina Mae Hooper-Houston.
An autopsy was conducted by the Kalamazoo County Medical Examiner’s Office and the death was ruled as a homicide.
On Tuesday, June 17, Spencer was arraigned in 8th District Court on a two-count felony warrant for homicide – manslaughter and 3rd degree child abuse. Bond was set at $100,000 cash/surety.
Anyone with further information is asked to call the Portage Department of Public Safety at 269-329-4567 or Silent Observer at 269-343-2100 or at kalamazoosilentobserver.com.
