LAKE CITY, Fla., Jan. 8 (UPI) -- The teenage Florida girl charged with killing her older brother was frequently locked in a room by her parents with a bucket for a toilet, police said.
The 15-year-old also appeared to have been mistreated by her 16-year-old brother, Damien, reports by police in White Springs, Fla., and the Columbia County Sheriff's Department said.
The teen and her younger sister, 11, were charged as juveniles Wednesday with murder and ordered held in juvenile facilities. The parents, Keith Kornegay, 37, and his wife, Misty, 32, were charged with child neglect and remained in jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.
When police arrived at the family home Monday night, the only living person there was a 3-year-old girl, left alone with her brother's body. She reportedly repeated several times "he's dead."
"This is the stuff nightmares are made of," Columbia County Sheriff Mark Hunter said. "We hope the children involved can be helped."
Investigators said Damien had complained to his parents about being left in charge of his sisters while his mother accompanied his father on over-the-road trucking trips.
Monday night, the 11-year-old allegedly helped her older sister get out of her locked room. The teen then climbed through a window to another locked room, got her parents' handgun and used it to shoot Damien as he slept in the living room.
Police found the two girls walking to White Springs after they called a friend's mother and said they had run away from home.
Keith Kornegay allegedly acknowledged that the teenager was often locked up, at least once for 20 days.
In their reports, police said both parents appeared to have an "aggressive" attitude toward their oldest daughter. Misty Kornegay allegedly told police she and her husband imposed "excessive" punishment and "inhumane" treatment on the girl.
When Damien complained Monday before his parents left about having to watch his sisters, his parents allegedly told him to keep the older girl locked in her room.
In 2011, an uncle, Kevin Kornegay, was convicted of molesting one of the girls and filming her in sexual positions. He was sentenced to life in prison.
