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Florida Woman Accused of Killing Father and Daughter Then Hiding Bodies

A woman in Florida has been accused of killing her young daughter and her own father — and then trying to cover it up after being inspired an episode of "Criminal Minds," authorities said.
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A 25-year-old woman in Florida has been accused of killing her young daughter and her own father — and then trying to cover it up after being inspired an episode of "Criminal Minds," authorities said.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said in a release Sunday that Cheyanne Jessie initially reported her daughter, Meredith Jessie, 6, and father, Mark Weekly, 50, missing.

Jessie told authorities on Saturday that her daughter was in her father’s care when she received an ominous text from him a couple of weeks ago.

“He had a terminal illness and had less than a year to live and wanted to spend his remaining days with his granddaughter,” Jessie told the police, according to the release. Jessie then told authorities that her father wanted her to sell his belongings.

Meredith Jessie and Mark Weekly
Meredith Jessie and Mark WeeklyPolk County Sheriff's Office

“Numerous” inconsistencies in Jessie’s story led detectives to doubt her, the release said, and in a news conference Sunday, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said that Jessie had actually killed Meredith because she was afraid she would hinder her relationship.

"A beautiful child, 6 years old, was viciously murdered by her mother," Judd said. "The question is: did she first witness the vicious murder of her grandfather?"

After killing Weekly and Meredith, Judd said, Jessie watched the CBS crime drama "Criminal Minds," then placed the bodies in plastic bins, NBC affiliate WFLA reported. She then allegedly moved the bins to a shed down the street that belonged to her landlord.

The bodies, which had been shot and stabbed, were discovered on Sunday, WFLA reported.

Jessie was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of tampering with evidence.

Cheyanne Jessie.
Cheyanne Jessie.Polk County Sheriff's Office