A mom in Florida allegedly messaged a 10-year-old girl through the popular game Roblox and taught her different ways to harm the infant in her home. Police say the mom gave the girl explicit details on multiple ways to not only kill the infant, but also the adults whose care she was in.
Florida police shared that the woman was already on their radar due to other issues with her own family. Thanks to her involvement with the girl on Roblox, the mom now faces multiple charges.
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The story is bizarre and disturbing.
In a Facebook post, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office shared that 36-year-old Tara Alexis Sykes had instructed the 10-year-old to drop a 2-month-old infant onto a kitchen’s tile floor. Gulf Coast Kids House, a children’s advocacy center in Pensacola that helps victims of child abuse, contacted the sheriff’s office about the infant, who suffered “serious injuries.”
The mom was talking with the girl through the popular gaming app.
The mom began chatting with the 10-year-old on the popular gaming app Roblox. In the messages, Sykes allegedly instructed the girl on multiple ways to kill the infant.
“Sykes instructed the 10-year-old to drown the infant in the bathtub, burn the infant with scalding water, and drop the infant on the floor to kill the infant,” the statement reads.
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That wasn't the only violence the woman shared with the girl.
If the instructions to kill the infant weren’t enough, the mom also reportedly gave the girl ideas to kill the adults she was temporarily living with.
One example was, “cutting their throats with a knife while they slept.” And then she told the girl she could douse the bed sheets with aerosol spray and set them on fire. “The 10-year-old doused the sheets but was unable to carry out the instructions,” the statement reads.
Police are genuinely shocked by the events.
Police don’t know if Sykes and the girl knew each other beforehand, or if they met through Roblox.
“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,” Sheriff Chip W. Simmons said.
Sykes has other legal issues brewing.
In regards to this case, Sykes has been charged with attempted murder while engaged in aggravated child abuse. Additionally, the New York Post obtained a previous arrest record for Sykes.
She and her husband were arrested in May after they admitted that they knew their 14-year-old daughter was impregnated by their 20-year-old friend who lived with them. The couple faces child abuse charges for failing to report the “known sexual battery.”