Young Girl Was Found Slain in Father's Bathtub with 50 Signs of Trauma — and Dad and Stepmom Are Convicted

Mar. 15, 2025

Aydah DiMaso.Photo:GoFundMe

GoFundMe

The father and a stepmother of a 3-year-old Alabama girl have now both pleaded guilty to charges related to her violent 2021 death.

Police said Aydah DiMaso was found dead with more than 50 signs of trauma in her father’s bathtub in October 2021 after family members called police to perform a welfare check on the young girl, according to localWBRC,AL.com, andWSAZ.

The blind agreement means Metz, 33, and the district attorney’s office have not made a deal regarding her sentencing length, which will be up to a judge in November.

TheGadsden Timesreportedlast year that when Aydah was found dead, the young girl had fresh and recent bruising on her body. Nikolas, her father, reportedly admitted to “slamming” the girl on the ground and “kicking her in the stomach” among other physical abuses, according to the outlet.

Aydah’s family called her murder “unthinkable” in aGoFundMefundraiser post, set up in 2021 to help cover the family’s memorial costs.

Nikolas DiMaso.Gadsden Police Department

Gadsden Police Department

The family says in the fundraiser that Aydah’s grandparents were attempting to get custody of the young girl before she was found dead in her father’s bathtub.

According toWBRCand WSAZ, the young girl’s family filed a lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Human Resources for what it alleges were failures in Aydah’s case, which they claim led to the young girl’s death.

“This case represents an egregious failure of the system that is supposed to protect our most vulnerable children,” the family’s attorney Tommy James wrote in a Junesocial media postabout the lawsuit. “Aydah’s death could and should have been prevented. We are seeking justice for Aydah and accountability for those whose conduct resulted in her tragic death.”

Haley Metz.Gadsden Police Department

“What this child suffered from is just horrific,” James told WBRC last year. “You can’t even imagine.”

source: people.com