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Birth mother of murdered 13-year-old girl concerned for other 12-year-old adopted by suspect

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Published  November 26, 2024 11:01pm EST
Highlands County
FOX 13 News

Mother talks about child's death, DCF worker arrest

Selena went through foster care and was adopted by a DCF worker, but it was that DCF worker investigators said killed the 13-year-old girl. The Highlands County Sheriff's Office said she was abused, malnourished and tied up in a garage.

SEBRING, Fla. - Selena, 13, never really had a chance to be a child. She went through foster care before being adopted by a Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) worker. 

It was that DCF worker that investigators say killed the 13-year-old. The Highlands County Sheriff says the child was abused, malnourished and tied up in a garage.

The details are disturbing, and Selena’s birth mother, Jennifer Kellum, says the same DCF worker adopted both Selena and her 12-year-old sister. 

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Jennifer Kellum with her two daughters at a park.

Jennifer Kellum pictured that day with her daughters at a park.

Kellum says she was in communication with her adoptive mother and says the plan was always reunification, but before that could happen, Selena was murdered. 

Now, Kellum is concerned about the whereabouts of her 12-year-old daughter.

The charged DCF worker is 34-year-old Diana Natasha Mack, according to Highlands County deputies. 

Screenshots between Kellum and Mack showing the two communicating about reuniting Selena and her 12-year-old with their two younger siblings.

Mugshot of Diana Natasha Mack.

Deputies say the 13-year-old was found unresponsive and extremely emaciated in the garage and that her body was covered with multiple wounds. 

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Investigators say she was found nude, wearing only a diaper, and had been secured to the garage door.

"I was disgusted. I was, like, very disgusted about it," Kellum said. "Why would you have to do it to an innocent child that (had) a disability? If that was the case, she should have called me. She texted me on Messenger during the summer."

Screenshots show Kellum and Mack communicating about reuniting Selena and her 12-year-old with their two younger siblings, whom Kellum does have custody of. 

Screenshots between Kellum and Mack show the two communicating about reuniting Selena and her 12-year-old with their two younger siblings.

Screenshots between Kellum and Mack show the two communicating about reuniting Selena and her 12-year-old with their two younger siblings.

Then, all of a sudden, she says the messages stopped in May.

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Kellum explains that Selena and her 12-year-old were removed from her custody in 2015, but she continued to see them, most recently in 2021, and planned to reunite with them. 

She says she was most disturbed by the fact that Mack had once worked for the DCF.

"I'm really hurt because she's a DCF caseworker, so you should trust that then she wasn't going to hurt (any) kids," Kellum said. "But I mean, she did. She’s killed (one of) mine."

Kellum is now shifting her focus to her 12-year-old daughter, who Mack also adopted.

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"She means everything to me. She needs to come home to her family. I want my child home," Kellum said. "I got my other two kids. My kid needs to be home."

Mack is being charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and destroying evidence. 

Investigators say there's evidence Mack used pool chlorine to destroy evidence in the garage before calling 911. 

Mack remains in the Highlands County Jail, being held without bond.

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