NJ Woman Beat 4-Year-Old To Death While Father Was At Work, Affidavit Says

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — A North Jersey woman beat her boyfriend’s four-year-old daughter to death while he was at work, according to an affidavit of her arrest.

On Aug. 6, 21-year-old Ashanti Givens, of Paterson, was indicted on several charges relating to the death of a four-year-old girl. She was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and hindering apprehension.

The girl’s father, Givenchy Stewart, also 21 from Paterson, was indicted alongside her with endangering the welfare of a child and hindering apprehension charges.

See Related: 4-Year-Old Girl Dies Of Blunt Force Trauma, NJ Dad And Girlfriend Indicted

According to the affidavit, Givens had returned home from work around 6:15 p.m. on May 6, the night of the four-year-old’s death. Investigators’ records say that the child had been home alone for six hours while Givens and Stewart were at work.

The couple originally told police that the girl was left at Givens’s sister's home while they were at work. An investigation using phone call data and security footage found this not to be the case, the affidavit reads.

Givens initially told police that she’d picked up the girl from her sister’s house after work. Then, after feeding her, the girl threw up, and when Givens tried to give her a bath, she was “limp” in the tub, the affidavit reads. Investigators said that this wasn’t the whole story.

Givens was home with the child for more than two hours, while Stewart was at work, before a neighbor discovered the severely injured four-year-old lying on the road near Pearl Street in Paterson, according to the affidavit.

The neighbor said the girl was “limp” and that her pulse was extremely faint. He attempted CPR on the girl, who threw up white foam three times before paramedics arrived.

She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital later that night.

The county medical examiner said the girl had been “visibly bruised in multiple areas, including her forehead, arm, lower back, and legs.”

In addition to the bruising, the girl had sustained blunt force trauma to her back, which resulted in a lacerated liver and ultimately her death.

Officials said the back injury was "not accidental" and consistent with “a punch, kick, strike, or blow from an object,” with the manner of death to be homicide.

Additionally, the medical examiner said the injuries that killed the girl were inflicted one to three hours before her death, during which time she was home with Givens.

If convicted, Givens faces a maximum of life in prison.