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WEST JORDAN, Utah (AP) -- A year after a 10-year-old girl died of child abuse, donations will help her family buy a headstone for the grave.
"I'm just astounded," said Dale Larabee, the grandfather of Shelby Andrews. "My daughter was just in tears when we found out about all of these donations."
Shelby had bites and bruises on 80 percent of her body when police arrived at her home in Syracuse in August 2006. Her father is in prison for first-degree murder, and her stepmother is awaiting trial.
The family couldn't afford a headstone. The grave has only a tiny plaque that has faded. After a story Tuesday in the Deseret Morning News, the family reported $2,000 in contributions.
"It's really important to us that people know she's there," said Shelby's mother, Kimberly Hale.
Her death influenced Utah lawmakers to expand the death penalty in deaths involving children.
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Information from: Deseret Morning News,
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
