A grandmother was charged with murder today after she allegedly threw her two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter to her death from a shopping mall walkway.Toddler Angelyn Ogdoc plunged more than 50ft to the ground after being tossed over the side of the open walkway that connects a shopping mall to a car park in Fairfax County, Virginia.
Horrified witnesses told police they saw 50-year-old Carmela Dela Rosa grab the youngster and lift her up over a waist-high safety railing running along the walkway
The toddler was rushed to hospital with critical injuries after landing head first on the roadway below.
She later died at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Virginia.
Rosa was initially charged with aggravated assault but prosecutors today upgraded this to murder.
Police said Rosa had been shopping with her husband, daughter and granddaughter at the Tyson's Corner Centre.
The family were walking back across a walkway to the fifth floor of the car park after spending several hours looking for sale bargains.
It is still unclear to police why Rosa allegedly picked up her granddaughter and threw her over the side.
The walkway has security cameras but it is not known if they captured the moment the toddler was thrown to her death.
Police spokesman Tawny Wright said the incident was witnessed by other family members, who said they have 'no reason' why Rosa threw her granddaughter off the bridge.
Russell Jackson, who lives next door to Dela Rosa, said Angelyn's mother would drop her off at her house three to four times a week for babysitting.
He said Angelyn was a beautiful little girl with long, dark hair.
'When I saw the baby she would wave and throw me a kiss,' he said.
He frequently saw Dela Rosa and the child smiling and having fun, adding: 'She always had her little granddaughter in her arms.
'The baby was always happy. She seemed like she loved that baby.'
He said Dela Rosa has a teenage son who attends a local private school, adding:'She had her son in a good school. They are good people.'
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