ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (TCN) — A 36-year-old woman is in custody after allegedly instructing a young child on the video game Roblox to kill an infant by dropping them onto a floor last week.
On Oct. 17, the Gulf Coast Kids House, an advocacy center for child abuse victims, reached out to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office after a 10-year-old child allegedly dropped a 2-month-old infant on a kitchen floor, causing severe injuries. Investigators allege Tara Sykes spoke with the 10-year-old via Roblox and instructed the child “on various methods to kill the infant.”
According to the sheriff’s office, Sykes allegedly told the child to drown the baby in a bathtub, burn the victim with hot water, and drop the 2-month-old onto a solid tile floor. The sheriff’s office said Sykes also messaged the child on how to kill the adults they were residing 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.” Deputies allege the 10-year-old did pour aerosol spray onto the sheets but didn’t follow through with all of Sykes’ instructions.
Authorities arrested Sykes on a charge of attempted murder while engaged in aggravated child abuse. She remains held in the Escambia County Jail without bond, and additional charges are possible. The sheriff’s office did not disclose the relationship between Sykes, the 10-year-old, and the baby.
Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons said, “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.”
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