CARLSBAD, N.M. (KRQE) – An autopsy shows an eight-year-old Carlsbad girl who died from a beating allegedly at the hands of her father. Juan Lerma is charged with intentional child abuse resulting in death. His daughter was found dead wrapped in trash bags in a trash can outside his home in August. The grandmother says she was in the process of getting custody of the girl.

The autopsy report shows she died of blunt head trauma and had bruises all over her body. it also says the girl may have died as long as 48 hours after the injuries occurred. The girl was put in Lerma’s custody after her mother died. Lerma is scheduled for trial in April.

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