The death of four-year-old Treasure McWeay rocked the Renfrew Court neighborhood in December 2023. She was unconscious when officers arrived at the residence in the 4100 block of Renfrew Court. She passed away at the hospital.
James Saunders, a neighbour, told Atlanta News First, “It’s sad, anything can happen anywhere, don’t put nothing past nothing.”
“I just don’t understand it. I see kids over there playing all the time, but I just don’t know what could have happened,” Eric Mortin, another neighbor, said.
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The house looked “fun,” “quiet,” and “peaceful” from the outside when investigators arrived in December 2023. According to 11Alive, prosecutors claimed there were Christmas decorations on the front porch and toys scattered in the yard.
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The arrest warrants for Treasure’s father, Rodney McWeay, state that she was just 24 pounds when she died from malnourishment and dehydration. Her two siblings were also admitted to the hospital.
Her 32-year-old father has been charged in connection with her death. McWeay is now facing charges of murder, cruelty to children, kidnapping, and false imprisonment. Atlanta News First reported that his trial started Tuesday in southwest Atlanta.
McWeay is accused of separating his children from their mother in Maryland in 2023. According to reports, he took them back to Georgia and prevented the family from seeing them.
In her opening remarks, Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Marshal Hodge described McWeay’s house as a “house of horrors”. She described an isolating, controlling, and abusive atmosphere that she believes contributed to the situation.
“He controlled everything, so no one got in—not even law enforcement,” she said, according to 11Alive. “Until Treasure died.”
According to the prosecution, McWeay took his three children from their mother in Maryland after years of domestic abuse and locked them in separate rooms of the house that were observed by cameras, depriving them of food, water, and medications.
According to Hodge, the children could not play together or attend school/daycare. Treasure’s siblings survived and have returned to Maryland to live with their mother.
According to the prosecution, McWeay denied food and drink to at least one of his children, his four-year-old daughter, Treasure. She passed away just a few weeks before Christmas 2023.
However, McWeay’s defense lawyer contended that McWeay loves his kids and never meant to hurt them. He argued that the case is a tragic misunderstanding.
The lawyer admitted McWeay made some poor judgments, but he intends to show his client’s innocence during the trial this week.
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