A 2-month-old was seriously injured after a 10-year-old dropped the baby on a tile floor, authorities in Florida said while announcing the arrest of a 36-year-old woman who allegedly instructed the child via online video game Roblox on how to kill the infant.
Tara Alexis Sykes was taken into custody on Friday and charged with attempted murder while engaged in aggravated child abuse, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Monday.
An arrest report alleged that Sykes communicated with her 10-year-old daughter on the online gaming platform Roblox and instructed the girl "on various methods to kill the infant." The court documents said Sykes is related to the 2-month-old.
"Sykes instructed the 10-year-old to drown the infant in the bathtub, burn the infant with scalding water, and drop the infant on the floor to kill the infant," the sheriff's office said.
On Thursday, the sheriff's office was contacted by Gulf Coast Kids House about a 2-month-old infant who had suffered serious injuries after being dropped on the kitchen floor by the 10-year-old. Gulf Coast Kids House is a child advocacy center where forensic interviews and medical exams of children suspected of abuse are conducted.
The arrest report alleged that the 10-year-old picked up the infant "after he became fussy and was walking into the kitchen with him to find an adult" when the baby fell. The foster father picked up the baby and took him to the hospital where doctors said he had a skull fracture.
Morgan Lewis, a spokesperson with the sheriff’s office, said the 2-month-old is expected to survive.
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The 10-year-old allegedly said during a forensic interview that she dropped the baby "on the floor at the direction of her mother," the arrest report stated. The girl said she was "terrified of her mother and felt that if she did not follow through with the instructions, Sykes would harm or kill her as well," the report said.
An investigation into the incident also revealed that Sykes had allegedly instructed the 10-year-old on "how to kill the adults the 10-year-old was temporarily living with by cutting their throats with a knife while they slept and burning their house by dousing bed sheets with aerosol spray and setting them on fire," the sheriff's office said.
The 10-year-old allegedly doused the sheets but was not able to carry out the instructions, according to authorities.
Sheriff Chip W. Simmons said he was "truly disturbed" by the allegations "and the thought that anyone could think like this, let alone instruct these acts to be carried out."
"I have been in Law Enforcement for over 40 years and have never seen anything quite like this," he said in a statement. "There is something really wrong with her."
Sykes is being held without bond. The sheriff's office spokesperson said they do not foresee the 10-year-old being charged. The case remains under investigation.
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