A Redding couple accused of killing their 2-year-old daughter appeared in Shasta County court on Tuesday for their preliminary hearing. Riley and Amanda Royal allegedly abused, killed and then buried the body of their daughter near the Whiskeytown Environmental School in October 2023. During the court appearance on Tuesday, investigators revealed that Amanda reportedly told Riley to burn the two-year-old with a metal spatula after she had acted out. According to investigators, Riley heated up the metal spatula with a burner on the stove and burned his daughter on the hand. Later, Riley said he felt bad for burning her and he decided to give her a snack. However, when Amanda saw her daughter eating the snack, she said the food was hers and kicked the 2-year-old in the jaw. Later on, Riley allegedly changed the child’s clothes and put her in a car seat before leaving for a few days. Riley then got a call from Amanda saying the 2-year-old was dead. Riley came back to Redding and found the child still in the car seat and in the same clothes he had left her in. Riley then put the child in a freezer in their garage. Three days later the couple allegedly buried the 2-year-old inside a pillowcase. According to detectives, Riley had admitted that he brought tools with him so he could dig the grave near the school and “gently” put many large rocks on top of the body to keep animals from digging it up. The Royals are due back in court on January 20th.