The 36-year-old woman is facing charges after allegedly instructing a 10-year-old how to kill an infant through the popular gaming platform, as well as the adults living in the house — while court records reveal another disturbing and open case involving her pregnant 14-year-old daughter.
After an investigation into a tragic incident of a 2-month-old infant being dropped by a 10-year-old child onto the kitchen floor, causing “serious injuries” in Florida, the Gulf Coast Kids House involved the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office this fits Thursday.
On Friday, a 36-year-old woman was arrested and charged with one count of attempted murder while engaged in aggravated child abuse, per Law&Crimeafter she allegedly coached the 10-year-old child “on various methods to kill the infant” via Roblox.
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The sheriff’s office reports that Tara Sykes was in communication with the 10-year-old through the popular online gaming portal. The platform offers users a variety of games, while also providing a chat feature.
According to a press release from the ECSO, Sykes allegedly told the child they could drown the baby in a bathtub, burn the infant with hot water, and drop the 2-month-old onto a solid tile floor.
The suggestions didn’t end there, though, with Sykes also accused in the release of allegedly telling the child how to kill the adults they were living with, with suggestions including “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.”
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The 10-year-old did not follow through with all of Sykes’ alleged suggestions. Authorities report that the child did douse the bedsheets with aerosol spray, but was “unable to carry out” the remainder of the instructions by lighting them afire, per local NBC affiliate WJAR.
“I have been in law enforcement for over 40 years and have never seen anything quite like this,” said Escambia County Sheriff Chip W. Simmons in the release. “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.”
Law&Crime further reports that this isn’t Sykes’ first brush with the law.
The woman was arrested alongside her husband earlier this year, with each of them hit with one charge of child neglect and endangerment for allowing the 20-year-old man who’d impregnated their 14-year-old daughter to live with them.
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Police were called to the home on May 28, 2024, in relation to that case after receiving a call from the Department of Children and Families regarding the young teen, who was reported to be 31 weeks pregnant and suffering from malnutrition, per the outlet.
Both parents admitted to failing to report the “known sexual battery” against their daughter, according to a probable cause affidavit tied to that case. Authorities further alleged that the couple threatened to kill the 20-year-old if his grandmother did not pay them $10,000, which she allegedly did.
Sykes is currently being held in the Escambia County Jail as authorities continue to dig into both cases, which remain open. Additional charges may be possible, according to the sheriff’s office. She is being held without bond.
If you are experiencing or witness child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. If you believe a child is in immediate danger, call 911.
