'Worst case of child abuse ever seen' as real life 'Cinderella' killed by mum

Child abuse victim Elisa Izquierdo (Image: undefined)

The harrowing ordeal of a young girl subjected to escalating physical, emotional and sexual abuse by her own mother has been dubbed the 'worst case of child abuse' ever witnessed by authorities. The heartbreaking saga culminated in the murder of the six-year-old by her mother, leaving family members and the public reeling from the shocking demise.

In November 1995, the brutal murder of Elisa Izquierdo occurred in Manhattan, New York City. The little girl, who was her father's 'princess', succumbed to a brain haemorrhage inflicted by her own mother, Awilda Lopez, following prolonged child abuse throughout 1994 and 1995.

Awilda Lopez was battling a crack cocaine addiction when baby Elisa was born on February 11, 1989, at Woodhull Hospital in New York. Due to her drug dependency, Lopez had already lost custody of her two older children.

This resulted in Elisa initially being placed in the full custody of her father, Gustavo Izquierdo. He was reportedly a devoted father to the little girl, celebrating her birthdays with affection and lavish feasts.

A family friend recalled that Elisa 'was his life' and 'he would always say she was his princess', reports <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/little-girls-horror-death-hands-35931229" rel="Follow" target="_self">the Mirror</a>.

Awilda Lopez, the mother of a 6-year-old girl (Image: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Susan Stava)

However, a series of events led to Elisa being returned to her mother's custody with disastrous results. The child welfare system missed numerous 'obvious' opportunities to intervene as time went on and Lopez subjected Elisa to horrific, prolonged abuse.

Elisa's life took a tragic turn, reminiscent of a modern-day Cinderella tale. Initially under the protection of her doting father and even befriending Prince Michael of Greece, who offered to fund her private education, Elisa was sadly placed into the permanent custody of her mother and new stepfather Carlos Lopez, leading to horrifying abuse and ultimately murder.

Lopez pulled Elisa out of the private school she had been attending - and then her real father, Gustavo, tragically passed away. Elisa became introverted and emotionally unstable.

The school's headmaster noticed physical signs of abuse; she had multiple bruises, struggled to walk, needed to urinate frequently - and the poor girl began to pull her own hair out.

On 14 March 1995, an anonymous letter was sent to the Manhattan Child Welfare Authorities - it reported that Awilda Lopez had cut off Elisa's hair and claimed the girl was being locked in a dark room for long periods of time but authorities did not intervene due to a 'lack of evidence'.

Awilda Lopez, mother of slain Elisa Izquierdo (Image: Associated Press)

By this point, the mother had returned to regular crack cocaine use and Lopez subsequently removed Elisa from school in December 1994. This marked the beginning of the end for the young girl as she became a target for abuse by her mother and new stepfather, who was also a drug user.

Neighbours reported hearing the child being beaten and abused with cries of "Mommy, Mommy, please stop! No more! I'm sorry", but no welfare action was taken. But little Eliza was suffering dreadfully, being punched, battered, forced to eat her own excrement - and Lopez had used her daughter's head to mop the floor.

The child's head, face, lips, and body had been burnt, she'd been sexually violated with a hairbrush or toothbrush - and suspended from a shower rod for 'entertainment' in the twisted hands of her drug addict mother and stepfather.

On the evening of November 22 1995, Lopez rang one of her sisters, Mercy Torres, to report that Elisa was 'like retarded on the bed' with fluid coming out of her nose and mouth, but despite her sister's advice, Lopez did not take her daughter to hospital.

The following morning, Lopez invited a neighbour to come and see Elisa's tragic lifeless body - and this neighbour immediately called police and an ambulance as Lopez threatened to kill herself.

Lopez then confessed to hurling six year old Elisa head-first into a concrete wall, adding that the girl had not talked nor walked after this incident. A post-mortem revealed prolonged abuse and trauma including broken bones, damage to internal organs and numerous burns across her head, face and body as well as evidence of ongoing sexual abuse.

An official stated, 'in my 22 years of service with the New York City Police Department, this is the worst case of child abuse I have ever seen'. The mother pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a term of 15 years to life imprisonment - and welfare services were heavily criticised by the judge.

Awilda Lopez had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder at the time. In 2010 her parole was refused, but on April 19, 2022 her parole was granted and this mother, who murdered her innocent six year old daughter, was released.