By David Lohr
March 14, 2007
SPOKANE, Wash. (Crime Library) — For the third time in less than a week, I find myself writing about the story of yet another child whose life ended violently at the hands of a family member. On Monday, I covered the case of Christopher Payne, an Arizona man who is accused of murdering his five-year-old daughter. On Tuesday, there was the case on Valerie Lopez, a Texas woman who was arrested for murdering her baby daughter and who is also a suspect in the death of her infant son. And now, I am writing about the torture and murder of another child.
What makes each of these crimes all the more horrifying is the fact that, in each case, a report had been filed with Child Protective Services (CPS), and the agencies failed to take action. Had these agencies intervened, each of these children would probably be alive today.
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| Andriana Lytle |
On Saturday morning, Adriana Lytle, 32, went into a tirade, and accused her four-year-old developmentally disabled stepdaughter, Summer Lytle, of urinating on some clothing and towels. As punishment, Lytle put the little girl in front of the bathtub and demanded she clean the soiled linens. For ten straight hours, Lytle forced the little girl to scrub the clothes over and over again. At about 9 p.m., Lytle, still dissatisfied with the state of the clothing, put her foot on Summer's back and pushed the little girl into the tub. When Lytle returned to check on her later that evening, she found Summer unresponsive in the dirty water.
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| Summer Lytle |
Lytle and Summer's father, Jonathan D. Lytle, 28, both attempted to resuscitate the little girl, but they were unable to revive her. Summer's father then took the girl to Deaconess Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. Hospital staff notified the police, who immediately took Jonathan Lytle into custody. At about midnight, investigators went to the Lytle home, and arrested Adriana Lytle. They also took custody of the couple's 8-month-old son, and placed him in foster care.
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| Jonathan Lytle |
According to police reports filed with the Spokane County District Court, both Jonathan and Adriana Lytle admitted to severely punishing Summer. Lytle said that Summer's biological mother had dropped her off for a visit in August, but never came back to get her. The abuse had been ongoing for the last seven months.
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