A two-month-old infant is fighting for life in a Dallas hospital after being left locked inside a fly-infested room in Tyler, Texas, leading to the arrest of three women, including the child’s mother.
According to reports from KLTV and the Tyler Morning Telegraph, citing the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, the incident began on Tuesday, June 16, when the infant’s mother, 21-year-old Sidney Whitt, and another mother, 29-year-old Jacqulyn Morales, left the home to go partying.
Investigators stated the women traveled to a local hotel to meet a man and consume drugs and alcohol, leaving Morales’ 18-year-old sister, Shelby Munoz, at the house.
Before leaving, the mothers locked the two-month-old in a bedroom with two other children, ages 4 and 6. Authorities report that during the night, the older children began tossing the infant and stomped on the baby’s head. When interviewed by police, Munoz did not intervene to stop the abuse, later telling investigators she was not responsible for their care.
Whitt and Morales returned the following day but did not seek immediate medical attention for the infant. It wasn’t until Thursday, June 18, that the baby was finally taken to a local hospital.
Medical staff discovered severe head trauma consistent with physical abuse, including brain bleeding, facial bruising, and active seizures. Due to the critical nature of the injuries, the infant was airlifted to Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. More than a week after the incident, the baby remained in a medically induced coma on a ventilator.
Hospital staff and Child Protective Services immediately alerted law enforcement. When deputies executed a search warrant at the Tyler residence, they uncovered severe living conditions.
According to court records, the home was heavily infested with flies, while the floors were littered with discarded diapers and rat feces. Investigators also noted that the children were frequently locked inside a single room whenever the mothers left the house.
Following the investigation, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office arrested Morales and Munoz on Tuesday, June 23. Whitt was taken into custody two days later, on June 25. All three women face charges of endangering a child and injury to a child.
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