BARTOW, Fla. -- The parents of a 5-month-old girl have been arrested on accusations that they starved the infant to death, Polk County authorities said.

Tivasha E. Logan, 25, and Chauncey J. Gardner, 27, of Lakeland, were charged with murder and aggravated child abuse in the death of Chauntasia Gardner, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced on Tuesday. Polk County sheriff's detectives said they believe Chauntasia was starved to death.

According to the sheriff's office, deputies received a call at 6:02 a.m. on Sunday about a child not breathing. The infant was pronounced dead at 6:11 a.m.

Logan and Gardner were questioned about the care of Chauntasia, who was born premature at Lakeland Regional Medical Center on May 11 and weighed 2 pounds and 11 ounces, deputies said.

She remained at LRMC until July 29 and weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces when she was 2 months old, deputies said. At the time of the autopsy, about three months after she was released from the hospital, she weighed 6 pounds, and the child had not been seen by a physician since being discharged, the sheriff's office said.

Detectives said the parents had food stamps and the home had food and beer, but only a single partially filled can of baby formula.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd compared the parents to Nazis, saying they tortured their daughter by slowly starving her to death.

When asked about feeding, the parents told deputies the baby was receiving 2 ounces of formula every 3 to 3.5 hours, according to the sheriff's office.

The directions on the formula can found in the residence recommended the formula be mixed with water in equal parts, and the parents told detectives they mixed 1.5 ounces of water with a half-ounce of formula, the sheriff's office said. According to their statements, the baby was receiving a third of the recommended amount of formula at each feeding, deputies said.

Investigators said they believed Gardner and Logan were intentionally replacing baby formula with water.

Logan and Gardner have three other children together, a 4-year-old boy and two girls, ages 3 and 2, and Logan is also the father of a 10-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl.

Logan and Gardner are being held with no bond.

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