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Avery Roll's mother charged with murdering 4-year-old

Grandparents had tried to gain custody
Posted at 3:39 PM, Aug 10, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-11 00:20:49-04

CINCINNATI –  Avery Roll's mother was charged with murder in the 4-year-old girl's death Wednesday, almost two weeks after she was found unresponsive in a bathtub.

Avery's grandparents told WCPO they had tried to win custody of the girl after her mother, 24-year-old Britney (Roll) Mayes, served six months for child endangering. They said not enough had been done to protect the child.

Britney (Roll) Mayes

"We are grateful to the police. They gave our Avery a voice," Avery's grandmother, Tammy Risen, said after Mayes was arrested Wednesday.

Avery's grandparents are seeking an injunction to gain custody of Avery's remains. The child, who died Aug. 1, has not been buried.

First responders found Avery in a bathroom in her home on Beech Avenue in West Price Hill on July 29. She died at Children’s Hospital Medical Center three days later. The coroner ruled her death a homicide on Aug 5.

"This could've been stopped," Risen told WCPO after Avery died. "This could've been prevented if people would've listened."

Avery Roll

Avery stayed with her grandparents for six months following her mother's arrest, but her mother regained custody after her sentence was complete.

Her mother is now  locked up at the Justice Center and will be arraigned Thursday.

Risen recalled Avery as "a little jokester" who "would just laugh whole-heartedly."

"It's such a shame that a little girl like her couldn't grow up to be a beautiful woman," her grandfather, Jonathan Risen, said.