Police: Thornton’s daughter waited to call police

OCOEE, Fla. — Billy Bob Thornton’s estranged daughter told investigators a 1-year-old girl who died in her care acted normally and ate bananas after she fell from a playpen and hit her head, according to documents released Monday.

But detectives believe Amanda Brumfield’s story was inconsistent with the girl’s injuries and she was charged Friday with child neglect causing harm or disability. Brumfield, 29, was released Monday from jail, according to a spokeswoman from the Orange County Corrections Department.

The story was first reported by gossip Web site tmz.com. Arnold Robinson, Thornton’s publicist, said the actor hasn’t spoken to Brumfield for “a substantial number of years.”

Brumfield’s home phone was not in service, and a cell phone message was not immediately returned. Her attorney, Warren Lindsey, also didn’t return a phone call.

According to the charging affidavit, Brumfield told detectives her goddaughter, Olivia Garcia, fell from a playpen, hit her head and bit her tongue Oct. 3 in her Ocoee home. The girl seemed normal after the fall, eating bananas and fruit snacks, and Brumfield told investigators she even painted the toddler’s toenails before she went to sleep on a sofa.

More than two hours later, Brumfield was moving the girl to a playpen and noticed she was limp. She called her husband, who was leaving work, and then waited 10 minutes until he came home before calling 911, the affidavit said.

An autopsy determined the girl had a fractured skull and brain injury. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide and said Brumfield’s explanation was inconsistent with the child’s injuries, police said.

Brumfield’s mother, Melissa Parish — who went by Melissa Lee Gatlin when she married Thornton in 1978 — said her daughter shouldn’t have been charged. She said there was no reason to call the police because the baby showed no signs of distress.

Parish and Thornton divorced in 1980.