Father of 12-year-old girl who 'stabbed her nine-year-old brother' tortured and killed the cat

The stepfather of a 12-year-old girl who killed her brother in a ‘demonic’ attack in Oklahoma was previously jailed for torturing and killing a cat, and beat a jail cellmate so violently that the man was left with brain injuries. 

DailyMail.com is not naming the girl who remains in juvenile detention following the January 5 attack. 

She stabbed her nine-year-old brother, Zander Lyda, three times at their home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her mother, April, believes the attack was caused by a change in medication but she has not yet given any additional details. 

Zander’s father is 39-year-old Levi Lyda. In 2017 – when Zander was four and the girl was six – he tortured and killed a pet cat that belonged to another of his daughters in Missouri. 

Levi Lyda, 39, was arrested in 2017 - when Zander was four and the girl was six - for torturing  a cat to death. The cat belonged to his other daughter

Levi Lyda, 39, was arrested in 2017 – when Zander was four and the girl was six – for torturing  a cat to death. The cat belonged to his other daughter

Levi is pictured here with his ex-wife April, holding Zander, after his birth in 2013. The girl now in custody for killing Zander is shown, right, as a toddler

Levi is pictured here with his ex-wife April, holding Zander, after his birth in 2013. The girl now in custody for killing Zander is shown, right, as a toddler

Mom April Lyda with her son, Zander, on a GoFundme appeal for the family after his 12-year-old sister stabbed him to death

Mom April Lyda with her son, Zander, on a GoFundme appeal for the family after his 12-year-old sister stabbed him to death

He told police he was drunk and killed the animal in a haze. His family told police he said he didn’t want the burden of it anymore. 

He was taken to the county jail in St Charles, Missouri, where he beat up cellmate James L. Falke two nights in a row.

Falke, who was in jail for drunk driving and fleeing the scene of an accident, sued the county for not protecting him from Lyda after the first attack. As part of his lawsuit, doctors described how he’d been beaten by Lyda to such an extent that he was left with a ‘moderate brain injury’. 

Lyda is not the girl’s biological father but on the night of the attack, her mother told police how he and his mother treated her like their ‘own’. 

‘She is with Zander’s dad and grandma all the time they look at her like she’s there granddaughter too.

‘She doesn’t get left out, I don’t understand why she would have so much anger towards him,’ she said. 

Her biological father has not been publicly identified. 

Levi was pictured in an undated photo driving Zander in an undated photo before his death on January 5, 2023

Levi was pictured in an undated photo driving Zander in an undated photo before his death on January 5, 2023

Lyda is shown in the bodycam footage arriving at hospital while his son was receiving treatment. 

In the cat killing case, the girl’s mother – another former partner of Lyda’s – returned home to find drops of blood in the house and the lifeless kitten in the backyard.

Police also found drops of blood in the young girl’s bedroom, they said.

He allegedly told his wife ‘I got rid of the cat’ just before she found the body but claimed not to remember having killed the kitten because he was drunk after consuming a six-pack of beer and a half-bottle of vodka.

When questioned by police, authorities said, Levi explained that after their family cat gave birth to a litter of kittens, caring for them became a burden on the family.

‘It appears the animal had broken bones, had a broken leg. 

‘There are pretty clear indications of blunt force trauma to the head,’ St. Charles Prosecutor Tim Lohmar said at the time.

Levi later pleaded guilty to that offense, and remained out of jail so long as he underwent substance abuse counseling, mental health treatment and refrained from consuming alcohol.

Criminal records obtained by DailyMail.com show that he had previously been cited for public intoxication and a slew of traffic violations. He was also cited just one week before the murder of the cat with stealing a motor vehicle

Criminal records obtained by DailyMail.com show that he had previously been cited for public intoxication and a slew of traffic violations. He was also cited just one week before the murder of the cat with stealing a motor vehicle

But that was not the first time Levi had a run-in with the law. 

Criminal records obtained by DailyMail.com show that he had previously been cited for public intoxication and a slew of traffic violations throughout Oklahoma, where he grew up, and Missouri, where he had lived with April and their two children.

He was also cited the week before the cat’s murder with a motor vehicle theft.

It is unclear how close Levi was with his daughter following the incident, but he and April separately decided to move back to Oklahoma with their children.

He was even pictured driving Zander in an undated photo before his death on January 5, 2023.

April told police she was asleep upstairs when her daughter woke her up shortly before midnight that night to say she had stabbed the boy.

Recently-released police body camera footage showed the girl, whom authorities have not named, sobbing and repeatedly apologizing to officers as she insisted she was a ‘good girl.’

The edited video, obtained by The Law & Crime Network, begins with the girl running downstairs as she yells, ‘I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.’

As the girl is taken out of the home by police, April appears by the door frame saying the boy has stab wounds on his chest.

‘You better pray to God he f*****g lives,’ she tells the girl.

‘I’m so sorry, momma,’ the girl replies. ‘I don’t know what happened.’

The handcuffed girl then leads police to the knife she supposedly used to stab her brother, which she had thrown out of a window.

Once in the patrol car, the girl asks if she’s going to jail as an officer tries to console her saying it’s too soon to tell.

‘I ruined my life,’ she says. ‘I ruined my whole future. It’s all my fault.’

At one point, the girl appears to pray as she says: ‘God, please help me. What the f***. Please. F*** please.’

While still in the car, she asks, ‘Are the handcuffs necessary? I’m a good child.’

The officer tells her it is given the nature of the incident.

The boy, meanwhile, was rushed to the hospital and taken into surgery, but died from his injuries shortly after 2:30 a.m. CT. 

Police body camera footage shows the 12-year-old girl running downstairs as she yells, 'I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry'

Police body camera footage shows the 12-year-old girl running downstairs as she yells, ‘I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry’

The handcuffed girl then leads police to the knife she supposedly used to stab her brother, which she had thrown out of a window

The handcuffed girl then leads police to the knife she supposedly used to stab her brother, which she had thrown out of a window

The footage then skips to the police station, where an officer takes pictures of the girl’s arms and hands.

Lyda is then interviewed by police, and says her daughter has never displayed aggressive behavior in the past.  

‘I just don’t understand why she would have so much anger toward him,’ she says. ‘Especially at bedtime.’

At the end of the video, as two officers are talking, one says to the other: ‘You just wonder what’s going on in a 12-year-old’s mind.’

The girl is now in juvenile custody with the Tulsa Police Child Crisis Unit in charge of the investigation.

A motive for the killing remains unknown. 

In a statement to DailyMail.com on Wednesday, the police department said it is not making any comments on the case as it involves a juvenile and is under seal, per the District Attorney’s office. 

The footage then skips to the police station, where an officer takes pictures of the girl's arms and hands

The footage then skips to the police station, where an officer takes pictures of the girl’s arms and hands

Zander was described as a sweet child who 'loved to ride his bike, play Fortnite, hang our with his best friend or just run errands with his mom'

Zander was described as a sweet child who ‘loved to ride his bike, play Fortnite, hang our with his best friend or just run errands with his mom’

In the meantime, April’s friends have started a GoFundMe to help the family with the costs of what they describe as an ‘unexpected tragedy.’

‘The loss of her 9 year old son to her 12 year old daughter has left this mother and their family completely devastated and confused, we are still trying to figure out why this happened,’ the page reads.

‘Her daughter was a well behaved child with no prior history of behavioral problems. Her son Zander was the sweetest boy who had the biggest smile, he loved to ride his bike, play Fortnite, hang out with his best friend or just run errands with his mom.’

The page adds that April is still raising a three-year-old son as a single parent, and the funds will be used for their move to a new home, as well as legal fees, bills and a car repair. 

She also wrote in a message on the GoFundMe that it was inappropriate for the police department to release the footage of the arrest.

April then went on to claim that the girl started having behavior issues when ‘she was put back on a medication she was off for over a year,’ adding that ‘it wasn’t psych meds.’

She wrote: ‘I can’t get into details because I’m not sure what all I’m allowed to share just yet.

‘She has never even yelled at me, she was happy and energetic loves school, she is not mentally ill & has not been diagnosed with anything. 

‘She has been very well behaved the entire 6 months she has been gone and yes I’m very supportive of her and love her very much, obviously there is a lot of healing that we both need before we can ever live together again.’

source: dailymail.co.uk