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A Florida woman was arrested Friday and accused of instructing her 10-year-old relative, via messages in an online video game, to drop a 2-month-old on a tile floor and kill her adult guardians, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office announced.
Tara Alexis Sykes, 36, was charged with attempted murder while engaged in aggravated child abuse in connection to the messages. The girl told investigators that she was terrified of Sykes and believed that if she did not follow the instructions, Sykes would kill her, authorities said. The adults were ultimately not harmed, but the 2-month-old boy was injured.
The sheriff’s office began investigating on Oct. 17, when they received a report from a nonprofit serving child abuse victims that the infant had suffered a skull fracture on Sept. 26 after the girl dropped him.
Detectives learned that the 10-year-old was speaking with Sykes, who is a relative, through the online game platform Roblox at the time of the incident, according to an arrest report obtained by JS. The 10-year-old told investigators that she created the Roblox account for Sykes, the arrest report said.
Investigators said Sykes instructed the girl to kill the 2-month-old in various ways, including by drowning him, burning him with scalding water and dropping him on the floor, according to the report.
Sykes also instructed the 10-year-old to kill her guardians and their adult daughter by cutting their throats while they slept, according to the report. She allegedly gave instructions to burn down the home by dousing bedsheets with aerosol spray and setting them on fire.
The 10-year-old said she did douse the bedsheets as Sykes instructed but did not go through with burning the home down, according to the report. She also allegedly admitted to deliberately dropping the infant on the kitchen floor.
“I have been in Law Enforcement for over 40 years and have never seen anything quite like this,” Sheriff Chip Simmons wrote in a statement. “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.”
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An attorney listed as representing Sykes in a separate criminal case did not immediately respond to JS.
Sykes and her husband were arrested earlier this year and charged with one count each of child neglect and endangerment, after authorities said they allowed a 20-year-old man who impregnated a 14-year-old relative to live in their home, according to an arrest warrant from May. The case remains open, and Sykes has pleaded not guilty.
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
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