Authorities: Florida Woman Directed 10-Year-Old via Roblox to Drop Infant, Resulting in Death

Authorities Florida Woman Directed 10-Year-Old via Roblox to Drop Infant, Resulting in Death
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Authorities in Florida announced Monday that a 36-year-old woman had been arrested for allegedly teaching the youngster how to murder the infant through the online video game Roblox after a 10-year-old girl dropped a 2-month-old baby on a tile floor, gravely injuring the child.

The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook that Tara Alexis Sykes was taken into custody on Friday and charged with severe child abuse and attempted murder.

According to an arrest complaint, Sykes allegedly educated her 10-year-old daughter “on various methods to kill the infant” through online gaming platform Roblox. According to the court filings, Sykes is the baby’s relative.

“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 stated.

The 10-year-old dropped the 2-month-old baby on the kitchen floor, causing significant injuries, and Gulf Coast Kids House alerted the sheriff’s office on Thursday.

Gulf Coast Kids House is a child advocacy agency that does medical examinations and forensic interviews on children who may have been abused.

The 10-year-old allegedly picked up the baby “after he became fussy and was walking into the kitchen with him to find an adult” when the baby fell, according to the police report. Doctors stated the infant had a fractured skull when the foster father picked him up and brought him to the hospital.

The youngster should live, according to sheriff’s spokesperson Morgan Lewis.

The arrest report claimed that the 10-year-old dropped the infant “on the floor at the direction of her mother,” as she stated in a forensic interview.

The child claimed that 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,” according to the statement.

According to the sheriff’s office, an investigation also showed that Sykes had given the 10-year-old instructions 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.”

Authorities claimed that although the 10-year-old soaked the blankets, he was unable to follow directions.

Read Also: Florida Woman Accused of Using Child in Target Theft Scheme

According to Sheriff Chip W. Simmons, the accusations “and the thought that anyone could think like this, let alone instruct these acts to be carried out” “truly disturbed” him.

“I have been in Law Enforcement for over 40 years and have never seen anything quite like this,” he stated. “There is something really wrong with her.”

Sykes is not being bound by any bonds. The spokesperson for the sheriff, Lewis, stated that she did not anticipate the 10-year-old being charged. Investigations into the case are still ongoing.

Reference

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