A former employee of the Florida Department of Children and Families has been arrested after the horrific death of her 13-year-old adopted daughter.
Diane Natasha Mack, 34, once served as a guardian ad litem to represent the interests of someone who is unable to care for themselves. She is now accused of torturing her adopted daughter to death.
The 13-year-old victim was found dead, wearing just a diaper and near the front door of Mack’s Sun ’n Lake home at around 12:19 a.m. Friday.
“She was extremely emaciated and obviously malnourished,” Highlands County Sheriff Paul Blackman said.
“Her body was covered in wounds in all stages of healing, including lacerations that were clearly recently suffered.”
Blackman described the scene as “one of the most disturbing…I have encountered in more than 30 years of law enforcement.”
“There are no words I can say that can truly convey the nightmare that this child’s life must have been.”
Investigators believe Mack kept the abused child in a garage and monitored her from inside the home through a security camera.
They also determined Mack left the girl “lying dead on the floor” for hours as she tried to clean up evidence and drive her other children to another residence in Titusville.
“To see a child treated this way is not only heartbreaking, it’s infuriating,” the sheriff added.
“What makes even more appalling is that the suspect is a former employee of not only the Department of Children and Families, but also worked as a guardian ad litem.”
