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Exclusive: Mother Speaks Out About Recovery Of 3-Year-Old Girl Beaten With Brick

MIAMI GARDENS (CBSMiami) — For the first time since a 3-year-old Miami Gardens girl was savagely beaten with a brick and dumped in a blue recycling bin, CBS4 is getting a close look at the child and hearing from her mother and grandmother.

CBS4's Peter D'Oench met them exclusively at a park Friday in Miami Beach and from all appearances, the girl named Keturah is healthy, happy and energetic.

A Realtor Associate has also launched a Gofund me page to help Keturah and her mother find a place to live.

Keturah's mother Chanis Johnson said, "I was scared with everything that was going on but I think God has given her a second chance to be with me. She is doing well. She is much better. She has had a fast recovery. Doctors said she recovered very quickly for how young she is. The people at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, they really helped bring her back to life. They had a great team from housekeeping to the nurses to rehabilitation to the doctors and surgeons. They helped get Keturah walking again."

At the park, we watched as Keturah played with other children and was given some gifts by the group Sunny Isles Beach Moms.

Family members say Keturah's paternal grandmother was babysitting her when she somehow slipped out of her home on May 2nd. Police say a man who was staying at the home, Tristin Bernard, followed her and when she did not obey his instructions, he hit her with a brick and then dumped her in a recycling bin.
Bernard faces charges including attempted 2nd-degree murder. Family members said he had mental health issues.

Chanis Johnson said she will never forget what happened.

"Everything went through my mind at the time," she said. "I was at work and I was just trying to get my stuff and I couldn't get to Joe DiMaggio fast enough. I could not believe something like this happened. Especially at her paternal grandmother's house. I never thought anything like that would happen to my child while she was at work."

She said she wanted to thank a Good Samaritan, Jose Sotomayor, for stepping in to stop the beating and help Keturah after he heard noises coming from the recycling bin that he originally though might have been coming from a cat. Instead, it was the child crying out for help.

Chanis Johnson said, "I want to see him on Father's Day and give him something. I want to see him on Father's Day because he is an angel that gave my baby a second chance."

Keturah's maternal grandmother Elisa Johnson said, "If there is anything I can do to thank him to the utmost I really need to do that. If it wasn't for him hearing that sound from the bin she wouldn't be here today. It's really sad what happened but I think she will be able to overcome it."

Realtor-Associate Vanessa Ainzuain contacted CBS4 after seeing the story on CBS4 4 weeks ago. And she has been helping the family ever since and has launched a GoFund me page for them to help Keturah's mother find housing that is affordable and safe.

She said, "It is a really horrible story what happened to this little angel. When I heard it I knew I had to help her. I want to see her go to college and I know she will. She is going to be an amazing woman."

Chanis Johnson said, "This is not a sign that God wants her to do something that will get her to her full potential that she can be someone special in this world. She is so strong. My baby is so strong. She is so strong for her age."

Keturah has had a slight problem with speed but her mother hopes she will make a full recovery.

She may need months of therapy.

Ainzuain said, "Maybe there is a really good therapist out there we can find. And a psychologist as well to get her through this."

Miami Gardens Police have also taken a special interest in the case.

After Keturah was injured, she received a visit from Miami Gardens Police Chief Delma Noel Pratt.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Keturah. Click here if you would like to help.

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