Almost a year after the 2-year-old kid was beaten to death, federal authorities in Texas have apprehended a 26-year-old mother from Tennessee who is suspected of killing her son.
Authorities said that Sharday Bakare was arrested on Wednesday and charged with one count of first-degree murder, aggravated child neglect, and aggravated child abuse in connection with the horrible killing of baby Anthony Jay Bakare.
Anthony Drake Andrews, Bakare’s boyfriend at the time, was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in May after receiving an indictment. Based on available records, he is being detained in the Shelby County Jail with a $250,000 bond.
The Memphis Police and Fire Departments responded to a report about an unresponsive 2-year-old at a home located in the 2600 block of Margot Street at approximately 5:49 a.m. on September 4, 2023, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The boy, later identified as Anthony Bakare, was found not breathing and “bleeding from the mouth with bruising on the abdomen, sides, and back, as well as a long bruise on the right side of the face that went from the forehead area to the lower jaw,” according to first responders who arrived on the scene.
After administering CPR to the kid, emergency officials took him to a nearby hospital, where they declared him dead. When the detectives returned to the house, they talked with Bakare and Andrews about how the boy got hurt.
Bakare said to the police that her son was in “good health” and that she had last seen him at approximately 11:15 p.m. the night before. She claimed that at that point, she gave Andrews custody of her son and went to bed.
Bakare also revealed in her police statement that she had previously witnessed Andrews hitting the child with “a belt or braided dog toy” as a form of discipline. She also claimed to be “aware” that Andrews “disciplines” her son.
Furthermore, Bakare purportedly added that Andrews had informed her that her son had just fallen off the bed, despite her having lately detected “excess bruising” on him.
After being informed of his Miranda rights by the police, Andrews consented to make a statement.
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“During the statement, Anthony Andrews admitted to hitting the child with a belt ‘harder than (he) should’ a few weeks before this incident, as well as striking the child 7 to 8 times with a braided dog toy in the back, face, and buttocks area the morning of Sept. 4, 2023,” according to the affidavit. “Mr. Andrews also admitted to striking the child with an open hand in the chest at least once or twice before shoving the child into a corner.”
Andrews claimed to have put the toddler back in bed following the alleged abuse. He claimed that once the youngster slipped off the bed a few minutes later, he discovered Anthony Bakare wasn’t responding.
Records indicate that Andrews’ next court date is July 24. After being extradited from Texas, Bakare was taken into custody at the Shelby County Jail on a $1 million bond.
