Mom Accused of Killing Daughter Was Child Welfare Worker

A Pennsylvania woman charged with killing and dismembering her adoptive daughter as part of a rape-murder fantasy she and her boyfriend shared had previously worked as an adoption supervisor for a children's welfare agency, authorities said Monday. Sara Packer worked as a supervisor for the Northampton County Children, Youth, and Families Division for adoptions from 2003 to 2010, when she was suspended, the county said. No details have been released on why she was suspended. Packer was arraigned Sunday on charges including criminal homicide, rape, and abuse of a corpse, the AP reports. Her boyfriend, Jacob Sullivan, was arraigned on similar charges. Packer and Sullivan didn't enter pleas and were denied bail, and no attorney information was available for them.

Officials say 14-year-old Grace Packer was beaten, raped as her mother watched, poisoned, and hours later strangled in a stifling attic in July. Investigators say the couple packed Grace's body with cat litter to mask decomposition smells and stored it in the attic. Officials allege the couple dismembered the body in October after being scared by a police visit. The girl's torso was found by hunters in a Luzerne County park on Oct. 31, and K9 teams found her legs and arms nearby, a criminal complaint said. Sara Packer had previously been charged with child endangerment and obstruction. Police say she provided misleading information to investigators when reporting that Grace was missing from their Abington home in July. The AP has more. (More murder stories.)