Police officers investigating the death of a 6-year-old girl in Pembroke Park have been questioning witnesses about whether the scene where the child died may have been altered before police could examine it thoroughly.Investigators have arrested the father of the 13-year-old murder suspect on an old, unrelated warrant and questioned him about his son.

The suspect, Lionel Tate, is charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the death of Tiffany Eunick at Tate's Pembroke Park home on July 28. Tate's mother, Kathleen Grossett-Tate, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, was baby-sitting Tiffany when the child was fatally injured.

Some of Grossett-Tate's trooper colleagues who went to her home after the girl died in her care told investigators last month that they suspected Grossett-Tate cleaned up the area where the girl died before police had a chance to examine it thoroughly.

Troopers were not investigating the case but went to the house to offer support to their colleague, according to statements they gave Broward County detectives.

"I smelled what appeared to be a very strong odor. When I say strong, I'm talking about a strong odor of bleach, Clorox, whatever you want to call it, and I overheard what appeared to be a washing machine running," said Lt. William Ferrell, who went to the house hours after Tiffany died.

Other troopers said they thought Tate's mother had cleaned up blood when they went to the scene later. But a paramedic who tried to resuscitate Tiffany earlier told police he saw no blood around the girl's body.

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Broward Sheriff's Office detectives investigating Tiffany's death initially thought the child choked to death. The child's death appeared to have been an accident, according to police.

The case later became a homicide investigation because an autopsy found the girl had severe injuries, and Tate said that he grabbed her in a bear hug and she hit her head.

Tate's attorney, Jim Lewis, dismissed the troopers' suspicions on Thursday and said Grossett-Tate did what any normal person would do when she returned from the hospital where Tiffany died.

"Well see, she cleaned up vomit, she didn't leave it there," Lewis said sarcastically of the police questioning. "Does that really seem weird to anyone?"

"No one at that point knew there was going to be any kind of homicide investigation at that time," Lewis said. The area was not then considered a crime scene, he said.

Grossett-Tate told police she was upstairs sleeping when Tiffany was injured. Tate later said he was wrestling with Tiffany when she struck her head.

Lewis said he thinks police and prosecutors are "picking on" Tate's family. In recent weeks, court documents show that police interviewed at least four of Grossett-Tate's trooper colleagues.

And on Wednesday, a Broward sheriff's detective and officers from the Warren County Sheriff's Department in Mississippi arrested Tate's father, John Tate, at his job in Vicksburg, Miss.

The Broward detective went to interview John Tate, 37, about his son, who lived with him and went to school in Vicksburg until Lionel Tate returned to South Florida about a month before Tiffany died.

John Tate was arrested on a 1993 warrant out of Cook County, Ill., involving a felony drug possession charge, said Detective Tim Williams of the Warren County Sheriff's Office.

John Tate cooperated with police and will be extradited to Illinois, Williams said.

Lewis said that arresting John Tate on the warrant is an example of police trying to exert pressure to get damaging information about Lionel Tate from his father.

"It is a common tool used by police when they want to interrogate someone. It gives them a leg up because the person is locked up," Lewis said.

Prosecutor Ken Padowitz said detectives are doing a thorough investigation of the girl's death, and the trip to Mississipi was part of that.

"Any outstanding warrants have nothing to do with this case," Padowitz said.

Lewis said the detective also questioned teachers in Vicksburg about Lionel Tate's school records and behavior.

"They go after the mother implying she cleaned up a crime scene; they get the father arrested on a warrant that's been around for years," Lewis said. "I'm starting to feel a little picked on."

Paula McMahon can be reached at pmcmahon@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4533