Here on Stolen Lives, we discuss brutal and heartbreaking crimes against children.

Themes may include child murder, torture, and sexual domestic and child abuse.

I do try my best to remain respectful for the babies in these stories,

and leave out unnecessary details that honestly, none of us need to know to understand the

frustration of why and how

this ever happened. However, if you find any of these themes triggering, this podcast may not be

for you. Listener discretion is advised. Four-year-old Anaya Day had her whole life ahead of her.

But at the hands of her mother and mother's new boyfriend, that life was taken away.

Child protection knew of the abuse Anaya was enduring for two years before her murder,

yet nothing was done. Anaya even telling social workers, Mommy did it, and they simply

returned her back to her abuser. Anaya's father fought desperately to save his daughter,

and the emergency custody order was awarded

to the day after Anaya was murdered.

This is Anaya's story.

23-year-old Sierra Day and her live-in boyfriend, 26-year-old Deonté Lewis, are hauled into court

to face a charge of aggravated murder for causing the death of Sierra

Day's daughter, 4-year-old Anaya Day Garrett. The medical examiner says Anaya was beaten to death

and was malnourished at the time of her death. Satan, the devil, I cannot imagine to tell you

while someone would hurt a child. The child's father, Michael Garrett, says his daughter had been abused over and over again by her mother.

He and other family members reported the abuse to Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services on a number of occasions.

And at the time of Anaya's death, he was fighting for emergency custody.

I did everything on my power to let them know.

...