A mother in Wisconsin is facing felony charges after her daughter’s death. Shyanna Brothers has been accused of hiding her infant daughter’s dead body in a bedroom in her apartment. The mother is making claims that she was forced to leave the child in the home. Currently a motive is still being determined. In the meantime, investigators are determining a cause of death, but they have some insight into what may have happened.
Milwaukee police were called on August 13, 2025, for reports of a foul smell coming from the home of 28-year-old Shyanna Brothers, WISN reported. When Brothers was questioned, she told police that the smell came from old food. But according to the criminal complaint filed, the woman eventually let them into the apartment.
“He has me hiding her in there,” the woman said, pointing toward a locked bedroom door. Once inside, police found the body of her 10-month-old daughter, Layne Taylor, per the news outlet. Police found the baby’s body in a “large cardboard box in the center of the floor.” It was decomposing, “surrounded by flies and maggots.”
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, an autopsy showed the baby had a skull fracture “consistent with blunt force trauma.” An exact cause and manner of death is still being determined.
The criminal complaint noted that Brothers acted erratic when police tried to interview her. She seemed to be having conversations with people who weren’t there. Her statements were also inconsistent — she said she “had no control over how she died” and later added “I did not kill my child,” the newspaper reported.
During her August 17 court appearance, an examination of her mental competency was requested.
Brothers has been charged with moving or hiding the corpse of a child, a felony that has a maximum penalty of 12 years. No other suspects are being questioned, per WISN. A bond was set for $50,000. She is still in jail.
