Inset left and center: Darci Lambert and Jorden McGuire (Oklahoma County Detention Center). Inset right: Locklynn McGuire (GoFundMe). Background: The area near where the defendants and victim lived in Oklahoma City, Okla. (Google Maps).
An Oklahoma couple has been charged after prosecutors say their toddler daughter was shut inside a room with a dog that fatally attacked her.
Darci Lambert, 25, and Jorden McGuire, 35, are each facing one count of first-degree murder, an alternative count of second-degree murder, and five counts of animal cruelty, according to the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office.
The case stems from a November 2025 incident that killed 2-year-old Locklynn McGuire. Lambert and McGuire had initially been scheduled for arraignment in July, but that hearing was pushed back to September.
Oklahoma City police said officers were called around 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 18, 2025, to a home near North East 26th Street and North Prospect Avenue.
In a 911 call, Lambert said her daughter was not breathing, according to an affidavit obtained by Oklahoma City-based Fox affiliate KOKH. Officers found the girl dead in her bedroom. The wounds on the child’s body were consistent with dog bites, police said.
OKC Animal Welfare removed four dogs from the residence. Three of the four dogs appeared to be malnourished, police said. The dog believed responsible for the attack, Ella, was a pit bull whose hip bones were visible, according to law enforcement.
The child’s father put her to bed around 7:30 p.m. that night, according to the charging document. Meanwhile, the child’s mother was at work until roughly 10:30 p.m., police said. McGuire told investigators he took medication to fall asleep and then woke up around 8:45 p.m. to check on Locklynn. At that time, the father said, the toddler was sleeping on a mattress with Ella.
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McGuire allegedly went on to say the pit bull was kept in the child’s room because Ella would fight the other dogs. The child’s room had toddler locks on either side of the door that prevented Locklynn from leaving, according to the charging document.
When Lambert arrived, she allegedly did not check on the girl immediately, and only learned what happened later, police said.
Authorities allege Ella previously attacked Locklynn — 12 days before the fatal incident. Still, the couple kept the dog confined but uncaged in the same locked room with the little girl, authorities claim. That earlier instance resulted in the child suffering “serious injuries,” prosecutors said in a press release.
“This is an unspeakably tragic case,” Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Zemp Behenna said in a statement. “Lambert and McGuire’s complete disregard for the health, safety, and welfare of their child, and their failure to protect her despite knowing she was at risk, led to her death.”
One of the victim’s cousins remembered her fondly in a GoFundMe for funeral expenses.
“Locklynn was pure light,” the online fundraiser reads. “She was curious, gentle, and full of joy — the kind of little girl whose smile could brighten even the hardest day. She loved deeply and was deeply loved. Losing her in such a heartbreaking and unexpected way has left our entire family shattered.”
The post Couple facing murder charges over death of 2-year-old locked in room where dog known to fight other dogs was kept, authorities say first appeared on Law & Crime.