YORK – The holidays are hard days for Jacqueline Conley.

The stuffed bunny she bought her granddaughter Kassidy for her first Christmas ended up tucked into the toddler’s casket 11 months later. And Sunday marked what should have been another day to celebrate – Kassidy’s second birthday.

Nearly three months have passed since 21-month-old Kassidy Bortner of Rochester, N.H., was beaten to death. Her mother’s boyfriend, Chad Evans, 29 has been charged with second-degree murder and assault.

According to court documents, the toddler was beaten regularly in the months leading up to her death. Conley remembers being in the delivery room when Kassidy was born. “I will never forget her. There will not be a day in my life I won’t think about her,” she told Foster’s Daily Democrat from her Buckfield home.

“I can’t say goodbye to her,” Conley said. “It is so senseless. It is so senseless to have somebody do this. Kass will never grow up. She’ll never get to play with Barbies or have another birthday party.”

The toddler spent four days with her grandmother in late September while her mother, 18-year-old Amanda Bortner, and Evans went to a baseball game. Conley said she saw no signs of abuse.