An East Alabama woman has been sentenced to life in prison for abusing her stepdaughter more than 50 signs of trauma covered her body and whose head was shaved when she died three years ago.
Haley Dee Metz, 33, walked into one in September blind plea of guilty to aggravated child abuse by 3-year-old Aydah DiMaso.
A blind plea means there was no previously agreed upon sentence as part of the deal and a judge would decide her fate.
Etowah County Circuit Judge William Ogletree imposed the life sentence – with the possibility of parole – on Metz on Friday.
Metz’s husband, 25-year-old Nikilas DiMaso, pleaded guilty earlier this year to murder and conspiracy to commit child abuse. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“We are so grateful for the outcome,” Aydah’s grandmother, Shundra Powe Davis, said after Metz’s sentencing. “Today justice was served.”
According to charging documents, Aydah was killed in October 2021 with the “hands and/or fists” of DiMaso.
She was found unconscious in the bathtub after family members asked police to go to the DiMaso home on Crestview Drive for a welfare check that afternoon Monday.
Family said DiMaso was given custody of Aydah less than eight months before her death, despite her maternal grandparents’ struggle to get her into their care.
Attorneys for Aydah’s family filed a lawsuit last year against the Alabama Department of Human Resources and individual treatment providers for their alleged role in the girl’s death.
The lawsuit, filed by Birmingham attorneys Tommy James of Tommy James Law and Jeremy Knowles of Morris Haynes, alleges DHR and decision makers have failed multiple times to protect Aydah from ongoing abuse and neglect.
According to the lawsuit, Aydah’s filthy living conditions included animal feces and urine throughout the house, reports of DiMaso’s drug use, particularly a heroin addiction, and observations of Ayda exhibiting sudden changes in behavior.
The lawsuit alleges systematic deficiencies and neglect that allowed the young child to remain in a seriously harmful environment despite clear indications that she was in danger.
“This case represents a blatant failure of the system that should protect our most vulnerable children,” James said.
“Aydah’s death could and should have been prevented. We seek justice for Aydah and accountability for those whose conduct resulted in her tragic death.”
Aydah was described in a 2021 GoFundMe as a sweet soul with an infectious giggle who was loved by her grandparents who had fought over custody of her.
Davis said there wasn’t a dry eye in the courtroom Friday.
“The photos and text messages presented were so horrific that my husband, mother and I had to step out, and even the judge ultimately said he had heard enough,” Davis said in a Justice for Aydah Facebook post.
She said the courtroom was packed with friends, family, the Gadsden Police Department and Etowah County prosecutors.
“I am incredibly grateful to these remarkable individuals for ensuring Aydah received justice,” she said.
Davis said Aydah’s family will do everything possible to keep Metz in jail.
“The struggle is now taking a new direction,” she said. “With both of these individuals incarcerated, we can begin the important work of honoring Aydah’s name through laws that protect other innocent lives from such tragedies.”