Mother, a drug addict, arrested in 2009 death of 8-year-old daughter

PoliceNewsLink.Com
Feb. 6, 2010, 12:09AM

For 17 years, Texas Child Protective Services workers suspected that Almita Nicole Lockhart, a drug addict now accused of starving her daughter to death, was unable to care for her children.

They investigated in 1993 and 1994. In 1996 and 1999. And five other times between 2000 and 2009, the year her 8-year-old daughter, Halle Shamille Smith, died of starvation, records show.

Lockhart, 34, who has nine other children, was arrested this week and remained in jail Friday in lieu of $30,000 bail, charged with injury to a child, accused of allowing Halle to starve to death a year ago.