A 36-year-old woman, Tara Alexis Sykes, was arrested in Florida on charges of attempted murder while engaged in aggravated child abuse. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office alleges that Sykes used the online gaming platform Roblox to instruct her 10-year-old daughter on various methods to harm a two-month-old infant and other adults in the home where the child was temporarily living.
Authorities said that Sykes allegedly instructed the child to drown the infant in the bathtub, burn the infant with scalding water, and drop the infant on the floor. The 10-year-old girl allegedly followed the instructions and dropped the infant on a tile floor, causing serious injuries. The infant was taken to the hospital with a skull fracture but is expected to survive.
The sheriff’s office also alleges that Sykes instructed the 10-year-old on how to harm the adults in the home 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 child reportedly doused the sheets but was unable to carry out the instructions.
The 10-year-old girl, in a forensic interview, stated 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.
Sykes is currently being held without bond. The case remains under investigation, and additional charges may be filed.
“I have been in Law Enforcement for over 40 years and have never seen anything quite like this. 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. There is something really wrong with her,” Escambia County Sheriff Chip W. Simmons said in a statement posted on Facebook.
Recent Comments