Couple Allegedly Hid When Police Knocked on Door. Then Cops Found Their Dead Daughter Buried Near Campground

Authorities in California have arrested a couple on murder charges after they allegedly discovered the couple’s 2-year-old daughter buried near a campground. 

Riley Royal, 28, and Amanda Royal, 24, were arrested on Tuesday, Oct. 29, by authorities in Shasta County, Calif., the sheriff’s department said in a statement. 

The investigation began on Jan. 7, when Shasta County sheriff’s deputies responded to a home in Redding to conduct a welfare check on a 2-year-old girl, the statement said. 

When they arrived at the home, the couple allegedly hid inside the residence while telling police on the phone that they were not there. Eventually, police located them inside the house where they were “attempting to elude law enforcement,” per the statement.

When police could not find the child, who is not named in the statement, they interviewed the couple, who claimed that the child was deceased and “unlawfully buried,” the statement alleges.

Investigators learned that the child had allegedly suffered physical abuse before her death in October 2023. After her death, which has been ruled a homicide, she was buried near Whiskeytown Recreation area, just outside Redding, according to the statement.

The child’s body was exhumed on Jan. 8, a day after the welfare check. 

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Another child, whose age was not disclosed in the statement, was found in the residence with the couple and was placed with the local children’s services agency, police said.

Riley and Amanda have both been charged with murder with special allegations and child abuse resulting in death, per the statement. They are being held at the Shasta County Jail without bail. 

Online court records did not indicate a plea for either of the suspects. Their respective defense attorneys did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for further comment.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.