A Montana woman has been charged with killing her toddler son after the 2-year-old’s body was found decomposing on a pile of laundry and trash in an upstairs bedroom of the home.
Nichole Lynn Boyer, 28, faces a charge of deliberate homicide after she called 911 on October 16 and reported that her son, who she said had been sick for months, had died, KSL reported.
“Just take me to jail,” she told a Beaverhead County deputy who responded to the call, according to court documents.
Investigators noted a strong smell of decomposition when they entered the home, which they described as being in “poor condition” with piles of trash, rotted food, and animal feces everywhere.
They found the boy’s body next to a mattress, covered in a sweatshirt that Boyer said was hers.
The bedroom itself was described as filthy. An air conditioner was running, although the temperature that day was 44 degrees.
Court documents revealed that Boyer’s son, identified as S.B., had several conditions that left him severely disabled and unable to walk. Boyer said she kept the toddler in the upstairs bedroom and checked on him several times a day — until September, when she simply stopped caring for him.
“I believe I should have done more,” Boyer said, the documents say. “My lack of not paying attention and prioritizing other things over him led to him dying.”
The documents further described the “care” Boyer had shown before she stopped giving him food and water in September. She kept him in a “padded” area in the bedroom with water in a “to-go” bottle. She left his food on the floor so he could “army crawl” over to get it.
She said she never took him to the doctor for illnesses he had over the summer because she believed she had everything she needed to take care of the child herself.
“Boyer said that she would check on him during the day, but that she slept downstairs at night with her other child,” the documents say. “Boyer said that at some point in September, she got overwhelmed and stopped caring for the child. When asked why, she stated that she ‘didn’t prioritize him.’”
When interviewed by police, she said she didn’t remember the last time she fed the child and said she’d known he was dead for weeks but “convinced herself he was still alive” before she finally called 911.
Three other children and an adult were taken out of the home, KXLF reported. She reportedly told police she became “overwhelmed” in August caring for the other children and her father, who was also ill.
Boyer is being held on a $500,000 bond and has a court appearance on Tuesday.
According to the Dillon Tribune, she has multiple conditions should she bond out of jail, including GPS monitoring, no contact with witnesses, victims, or family members, no access to firearms, no contact with any children, and remaining in the state of Montana.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Nichole Boyer/Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Office]
