Tara Alexis Sykes, 36, was charged with
attempted m*rder while engaged in aggravated child abuse in connection to the
messages.
The girl, 10, told investigators that she
was terrified of Sykes and believed that if she did not follow the
instructions, Sykes would k!ll her, authorities said.
The adults were ultimately not harmed, but
the 2-month-old boy was injured.
The sheriff’s office began investigating on
Oct. 17, when they received a report from a nonprofit serving child abuse
victims that the infant had suffered a skull fracture on Sept. 26 after the
girl dropped him.
Detectives learned that the 10-year-old was
speaking with Sykes, who is a relative, through the online game platform Roblox
at the time of the incident, according to an arrest report obtained by
HuffPost.
The 10-year-old told investigators that she
created the Roblox account for Sykes, the arrest report said.
Investigators said Sykes instructed the
girl to k!ll the 2-month-old in various ways, including by drowning him,
burning him with scalding water and dropping him on the floor, according to the
report.
Sykes also instructed the 10-year-old to
k!ll her guardians and their adult daughter by cutting their throats while they
slept, according to the report. She allegedly gave instructions to burn down
the home by dousing bedsheets with aerosol spray and setting them on fire.
The 10-year-old said she did douse the
bedsheets as Sykes instructed but did not go through with burning the home
down, according to the report. She also allegedly admitted to deliberately
dropping the infant on the kitchen floor.
Sheriff Chip Simmons wrote in a statement.
“I am truly disturbed by the circumstances and the thought that anyone could
think like this, let alone instruct these acts to be carried out.”
Sykes is currently being held without bond.The
troubling case marks Sykes’ second arrest this year.
On May 28, she and her husband were taken
into custody after they admitted that they knew their 14-year-old daughter had
been impregnated by their 20-year-old friend, whom they allowed to live with
them, according to the arrest report viewed by The Post.
The couple’s daughter – who was 31 weeks pregnant and malnourished – also told police that the pair threatened to kill the 20-year-old if his grandmother did not pay them $10,000, the report said. Both cases are now pending.
0 Comments