Facebook Amanda Carmack and Skylea Carmack
Amanda Carmack, the stepmother of once missing Indiana girl Skylea Carmack, is now accused in the girl’s murder. Skylea, 10, disappeared on Saturday, August 31, 2019. On Facebook, Carmack, who had six other children in the home, posted about depression and complained about parenting issues.
Multiple posts complained about kids or the stresses of motherhood or just made her sound generally overwhelmed at times. “Oldest is nearly 13. I’m not exactly new the ‘preteen’ stage. HOWEVER, there are THREE 10yr old girls in the house. Well, one isn’t quite 10 yet but still… I’ve never had a taste for wine but I’m sure that I can adapt. ?” she wrote with one post in June 2019.
In another post, she wrote, “Working on teaching these kids all kinds of useful things AND hoping to give them a few things I didn’t have. ?”
Tragically, the girl’s body has now been discovered, and authorities believe she was the victim of homicide. On September 4, 2019, they announced the arrest of Amanda Carmack in the case, which stems out of Gas City, Indiana. The child’s full name is Skylea Rayn Carmack.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Amanda Carmack’s Facebook Page Says She Wanted to ‘Scream Like a Maniac’ & Was at the ‘End of My Rope’
Amanda Carmack
The awful news came on September 4 that Skylea’s body was found in a shed behind her home. That’s per Indiana State Police. Her cause of death has not yet been determined.
However, preliminarily, authorities think she was strangled to death, Sgt. Tony Slocum said in a news conference.
That information sent angry people to Amanda Carmack’s Facebook page to fill up her comment threads with insults. On Facebook, she sometimes posted about her children and made other comments. “I need to run through a corn field and scream like a maniac… Who’s with me? ???” she wrote on August 30. She shared a post criticizing President Donald Trump.
“The most disturbing thing for me isn’t that there’s a Donald Trump – although that’s pretty disturbing – it’s that 40% of the American population is okay with whatever the f*ck he says and does, no matter what,” read the post she shared. “Neighbors, family, co-workers, friends I thought I knew? I didn’t know. And really, that’s more than disturbing. It’s downright scary.”
She posted a graphic that read, “Today’s number is zero. Zero kids are listening to me…” She also wrote: “Soo… I’ve got a child that has been hiding food in their pants and flushing it after the meal. Regularly! This same child has also been sneaking hot cocoa packets and candy, eating them, and hiding them in their bed. Then… She tried to lie about it. That’s just the past week. Previously, she has run away, stolen money from me and continually lied about anything she thinks I’m too busy/stupid to know about. I’m really at the end of my rope with this one..”
One post she shared read, “I am happy, hurting and healing at the same time. Don’t ask me how I’m doing it because I don’t know, but I’m doing it and I’m so proud of myself.”
She also shared a post that read, “You may not see them suffer like they made you suffer but believe me their biggest punishment is that they are who they are.”
The coroner will do an investigation, however. According to missing person’s posters for Skylea, the girl was last seen in the afternoon wearing a black Mario and Luigi shirt, black pants, teal Converse high tops, and blue & silver nail polish. She might also have been seen with a pink backpack and blanket.
Skylea’s birth mother, Stacey Brandenburg, had been searching for her daughter, showing random strangers pictures of the girl.
“My baby is out here just anywhere, God only knows where, in the dark, by her poor little self,” said Brandenburg to Fox 59.
2. Amanda Carmack Was Watching Six Other Children That Day & Skylea’s Father Thought the Girl Ran Away
Amanda Carmack
Amanda Carmack is 34 years old and the stepmother of Skylea Carmack. In a press conference, authorities confirmed the stepmother relationship between the two. On Facebook, Carmack wrote that she wanted to keep children safe, a post which, like many others, has now filled up with angry retorts in the comment thread.
“‘I remember one time, while Daddy was reading us a story, Mommy came in and smashed her dinner plate over his head.’ There are too many random stories like this that I’ve heard over the last year and a half…” she wrote on Facebook.
“‘That time Daddy threw a vase and smashed Mommy’s head against the wall.’ Stories that remind me why these kids are here. Recent arrest records that prove the ‘parents’ are not getting better. My heart breaks for them all. I’m going to just continue to do the best I can to take care of them. Keep them SAFE… Show them that they don’t have to deal with that kind of stuff anymore.”
She also wrote about using CBD oil on kids, writing, “Super excited that I won! I would rather take this than a handful of NSAIDs every morning. I’m also going to try one or two of the kids on it to help with their hyperactivity. The dosing chart that was included will help give me a starting point for them. ? Grams has been using CBD oil for a while (Mom talked her into trying it) to help with all of her pain (neuropathy, gout and arthritis).”
She also wrote about an encounter in a Goodwill store: “Soo… We went to the Goodwill Outlets in Indy today… This woman decided that she had something to say about my husband telling our whiny 4yr old to stop whining… I had a little something to say about her following them around though. That was about the time he corralled the kids to the side and everyone else in the store was waiting to see what kinda show was about to start. My Momma taught me not to throw the first punch so I kept from swinging. I must be intimidating though… She threatened to call CPS, I told her to do it and that we would wait for them, she booked it out the doors though. I guess she decided that it wasn’t worth it cause I’m posting a status and not bail… ??”
She’s now under arrest and facing a murder charge, according to authorities. In addition, she’s accused of neglecting a dependent resulting in death and domestic battery causing death and strangulation, authorities allege.
According to FOX59, Skylea’s father is named Kevin Carmack, and he told the television station he thought the girl ran away. At the time, the TV station reported, he was at work and Skylea was at home with Amanda and six other children. The Department of Child Services took the other six children from the home, he told Fox59. The girl tried to run away before.
Grant County Jail records give these specific accusations against Amanda Carmack:
Murder
Neglect of a Dependant resulting in Death_Level
Strangulation def. applies pressure to throat or neck or obstructs nose or mouth
Battery or BBW resulting in death of a person less than 14 if committed by person at least 18
Amanda Dawn Carmack is not eligible for bail in any of these offenses.
At the time she disappeared, authorities said that Skylea stood only 5 foot tall and weighed just 100 pounds. She was believed to be in extreme danger and needing medical attention.
3. Amanda Carmack Studied at a Community College, Wrote About Marijuana Use & Is From Indiana
Authorities organize the search effort for Skylea Carmack.
On Facebook, Amanda wrote that she “studied at Ivy Tech Community College,” lived in Gas City, Indiana and was from Converse, Indiana.
She wrote about marijuana use on Facebook. “‘She’s a heavy marijuana user. . . ?’
Me- And?! There’s nothing wrong with smoking pot.
‘It depends on how heavily they use it’
Me- ??,’ one post said.
“Multiple law enforcement agencies and area volunteer firemen are still searching for 10 year-old Skylea Carmack,” Indiana State Police wrote before Skylea was found.
“She was last seen Saturday afternoon in Gas City. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Indiana State Police at 765-473-6666.”
4. The Child’s Body Was Discovered in a Trash Bag
Amanda Carmack
The specific details of how Skylea died – as well as the motive – have not been released yet. However, one horrific detail did stand out: Authorities say Skylea Carmack’s body was tucked away in a plastic trash bag, according to WANE.com.
Authorities now think she was killed between 4:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday, the television station reported.
On Facebook, a man wrote that “I knew something like this would happen one day,” detailing what he said was his own bad experience with Amanda Carmack. Many comments people are putting on Carmack’s Facebook page contain expletives and can’t be reprinted.
5. Amanda Carmack Filed the Missing Persons Report, Police Say
Amanda Carmack was the person who reported Skylea missing in the first place, according to Slocum. But she’s accused of not doing it until later that evening.
Gas City is an area that “loves, that cares,” Slocum said in the press conference, stressing the joint law enforcement effort that went into figuring out what happened to Skylea.
Asked about the motive, he said it was impossible to “rationalize why someone would kill a 10 year old.”