Prosecutors say a mother and her husband let her 8-year-old daughter essentially waste away.

Nicole Diggs was charged earlier this month with criminally negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of her own child. Her daughter, 8-year-old Alayah Saverese, suffered from cerebral palsy. She could not walk, talk or eat by herself.

Diggs appeared in Westchester County Court today with her husband, Oscar Thomas. Thomas was also charged last week with criminally negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of a child in connection to the girl's death.

Prosecutors say Diggs and Thomas did not appropriately feed or medicate the child when they were dating in 2012. Prosecutors also allege that the couple didn't send her to school or supervise the child.

 

Diggs lived in an apartment on Ashburton Avenue when the child died. When EMS workers arrived at Diggs apartment, the child had reportedly been dead for four to six hours.

Diggs was working as a special education teacher when her daughter died.