By Joe Johnson
A day after the arrest of the stepmother of an 8-year-old girl who was beaten to death in her Barrow County home, police have announced the arrest of the girl's biological father in connection with the case.
Cledir Mendes Barros has been charged with cruelty to children in the second degree and second degree felony murder, the Gwinnett County Police Department said on Thursday.
His wife, 34-year-old Natiela Barros was arrested for murder on Wednesday for allegedly killing Sayra Barros by hitting her 10-20 times with a rolling pin.
"[Cledir Mendes Barros] was aware the child was abused and continued to leave them unsupervised with the abuser. When made aware the child was having a medical emergency, [Cledir] did not seek medical care. The child died as a result of this negligence,” according to his arrest warrant.
Police said the girl died in a neighborhood of Bethlehem that's on the Gwinnett County side of the border with Barrow County.
Gwinnett homicide detectives had gone to the family's home after personnel who responded there to a reported medical emergency found the child dead.
According to police, they were told that Natiela had called Cledir to tell him that Sayra was unresponsive, and upon arriving home Cledir called 911 and started CPR on the child.