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Girl In Coma 6 Years Dies; Mother Faces Murder Charges

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A 6-year-old Sacramento County girl who was in a coma for six years after she was beaten and strangled has died and her stepmother could face homicide charges.

Truly Lo of Natomas died last Tuesday.

Prosecutors say the girl suffered brain injuries in 2004 from an attack by stepmother, Weili Kao.

Her father, Thomas Lo, tells the Sacramento Bee that doctors at first thought his daughter would only live a day or two, but he refused to remove her from life support. He says the girl, now 12, died at a children's care facility after warnings that her oxygen levels were dropping.

The stepmother was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for child abuse. Prosecutors will now decide whether to file homicide charges.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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