Reno couple pleads guilty in death of girl found in storage unit

RENO — The parents of a 5-year-old girl whose body was left in a duffel bag in a California storage unit have pleaded guilty to killing her, court documents said.

Averyauna Anderson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and Tyler Anderson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Washoe County District Court Thursday.

The couple, both 25, also pleaded guilty to destruction of evidence and are scheduled to be sentenced on April 21.

Cali Anderson’s body was malnourished and emaciated when she was found dead in a storage unit in Sacramento, California, in May 2018, court documents said.

An autopsy revealed the girl suffered from complications arising from malnourishment.

Investigators believe the girl was dead for a week in the couple’s Reno apartment before they placed her in a bag and then a plastic drum.

They rented a truck and left the body in a storage facility owned by a friend, who became suspicious and called police, authorities said.

Detectives who searched the couple’s apartment found a wire animal crate with handcuffs attached and a backpack next to the crate with a hat inside bearing the girl’s name, authorities said.

Averyauna Anderson, who is not the child’s biological mother, told police the girl was suffering from health problems but they never sought medical assistance.

A representative of the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office and the defendants’ defense attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment.