Royalty Marie Floyd murder: Grandmother arrested after body of toddler found in oven

The grandmother of a 20-month-old girl has been charged with murder after the child was found stabbed and burned inside the oven of a Mississippi home.

Carolyn Jones, 48, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Royalty Marie Floyd in the town of Shaw.

Authorities are waiting on an autopsy from the state crime lab in the city of Pearl to determine whether the child had died been burnt to death, or whether she had died from stab wounds.

Police reported that the child’s great-uncle found her body in a still-warm oven, according to Fox News.

Police reported that no one other than Ms Jones was in the residence when officers arrived. They arrested Jones and took her in for questioning, and subsequently charged her. Ms Jones is awaiting trial, and her bail has been set at $500,000. It is not immediately clear who is Ms Jones's legal representation.

Boliver County police chief Kelvin Williams said: “This is one of the most horrible things I've seen in doing law enforcement. The hardest part ... is to see a child victim.“

Neighbours said that they rarely saw anyone going into the house or leaving, and they did not know anyone was living inside, local news station WLOX reported.

The child's mother, Veronica Jones, has started a GoFundMe campaign to help with funeral arrangements, seeking $10,000.

“My mother was not a violent person," Veronica Jones said according to WLOX. "She loved Royalty and she always treated Royalty like royalty.”