A mother and her boyfriend charged with the first-degree murder of the woman's 4-year-old daughter are in the Alexander County jail today.
Olga Mendez, 25, and Kevin Eduardo Videa, 21, were returned to Alexander County from Longview, Texas, on Thursday at about noon. After six months running from law enforcement, the couple was arrested in Texas two weeks ago. They waved an extradition trial.
Mendez and Videa ignored questions from the media and stared at the ground as they were led in shackles from a dusty prisoner transport van into the sheriff's office. They were interviewed by detectives who spoke to the couple through an interpreter, according to police. Authorities declined to comment on the interrogation.
The couple is charged with killing Mendez's daughter, Brilly.
During an investigation initiated by Alexander County Department of Social Services into the disappearance of the girl, Mendez and Videa fled the county shortly before a cadaver dog found the skeletal remains of the child in the family's backyard on Oct. 24, according to authorities.
Chief Deputy Chris Bowman said the child had been buried about 4 feet deep in the ground in a wooden box in the back yard beside a shed. He would not comment on how the child may have died.
An autopsy report has not been released.
The couple had other children living with them, none of whom were with the two at the time of their arrest, Capt. Keith Warren with the Sheriff's Office said. Authorities have not disclosed how many children the couple had or what their ages are due to the nature of the ongoing investigation. They have said the other children are safe.
The couple's home was on JH Ingle Lane in the Little River community in the northwest area of Alexander County. They lived there for six to eight months.
After a joint search and investigation, the FBI and the Longview, Texas, Police Department SWAT team arrested the couple on Feb. 20. The couple was caught in Texas after the sheriff's office and the FBI traced phone calls the couple made.
Mendez and Videa left the Alexander County area after sheriff's deputies visited the house Aug. 27 at the request of Alexander County Department of Social Services, said Warren.
"Our detectives have been working hard since September on this particular case," Bowman said.
Mendez and Videa are being held without bond in the Alexander County jail. Their first court appearance is scheduled for Monday.
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