A man taking out the garbage at his Miami apartment complex made a gruesome discovery on Sunday afternoon: A little girl’s body, wrapped in a blanket, had been thrown out with the trash.
Miami police soon identified the girl as 4-year-old Taina Paige.
On Monday morning, police arrested the girl’s mother, Tina Farrington, and charged her with first-degree murder in connection with Tainatanie’s death, PEOPLE confirms.
According to her arrest report, Farrington was home with her two children on Oct. 31 when, police say, she became upset when the girl talked back to her and allegedly smothered her with a pillow.
Authorities suspect that Farrington hid her daughter’s body in the trunk of her 2013 Nissan Altima after the killing. Several days later, she allegedly noticed that a foul odor was coming from the trunk, so she placed the body in the dumpster, the report states.
Detectives allege that Farrington has confessed to killing her daughter.
Although Taina’s body was in the early stages of decomposition, the police report states that bruises were noticeable on the girl’s arms, legs and torso.
“We are disgusted and devastated by the death of this innocent girl,” Florida Department of Children and Families spokeswoman Jessica Sims said in a statement. “DCF has opened a child death investigation to review all circumstances that led to this tragedy and will assist police in any possible to hold anyone responsible accountable for this heinous act.”
Taina’s father, Leon Paige, is a police officer for the nearby Miami Beach Police Department.
In a statement, the police department asked that the Paige’s “privacy be respected during this very difficult time.”
Farrington is being held without bond in the county jail in Miami. She has not yet entered a plea.
Court records do not indicate whether she has retained an attorney who could comment on her behalf.
This article originally appeared on People.
