Two Texas mothers are accused of leaving three young children locked inside a bedroom while they spent the night drinking and using drugs at a hotel.
The two women, and the children’s aunt, returned home and discovered a two-month-old baby with devastating injuries.
Investigators say the older children – aged six and four – attacked the infant while the women were out partying.
The helpless baby suffered life-threatening head injuries while confined inside a filthy home where cops said the children were routinely locked away.
According to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, Sidney Whitt, 21, Jacqulun Morales, 29, and Morales’ sister, Shelby Munoz, 18, have each been charged with endangering a child and injury to a child.
Investigators say the infant remains on a ventilator in a medically induced coma after suffering brain bleeding, seizures and severe facial bruising.
The baby was initially taken to a Tyler hospital before being airlifted to Children’s Medical Center in Dallas for specialist treatment.
Sidney Whitt, 21, was arrested on Thursday and charged with injury to a child and endangering a child, with bonds totaling $500,000
Jacqulun Morales, 29, was arrested last Tuesday and charged with injury to a child and endangering a child, with bonds totaling $500,000
The investigation began after Child Protective Services and hospital staff contacted the Smith County Sheriff’s Office on June 18 to report that a two-month-old child had arrived at Mother Frances Hospital with injuries medical staff believed were consistent with child abuse.
Detectives interviewed the baby’s mother, other adults and children living at the residence before obtaining a search warrant for the home.
What they found, investigators said, painted an alarming picture of the children’s living conditions.
According to the sheriff’s office, the property had no air conditioning despite the Texas heat, was infested with flies and had floors covered with rat droppings, dirty diapers and clothing.
As detectives dug deeper, they said they uncovered evidence that several children living in the home were routinely locked inside a room whenever their mother left the house, with another adult left to supervise them.
Shelby Munoz, 18, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with injury to a child and endangering a child after investigators said she failed to intervene during the alleged assault
Investigators allege that on the night of June 16, Whitt and Morales left the residence after placing the children in the care of Munoz.
Before heading out, detectives say the women locked the two-month-old baby together with two other children, aged four and six, inside a bedroom.
According to the sheriff’s office, Whitt and Morales then went to a local hotel to meet a boyfriend, where they drank alcohol and used drugs.
While they were away, investigators say the two older children managed to gain access to the room where the infant had been left.
According to the sheriff’s office, the children began throwing the baby before eventually stomping on the infant’s head.
Investigators say Munoz later admitted she did nothing to stop the assault, allegedly telling detectives that the children ‘were not hers’ and that she did not believe their care was her responsibility.
Authorities further allege that even after Whitt and Morales returned home and saw the baby’s condition, they failed to seek immediate medical help.
The two-month-old was initially taken to hospital in Tyler before being airlifted to Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, where the infant remains on a ventilator in a medically induced coma
Instead, investigators say the infant did not receive treatment until June 18, two days after the alleged assault.
Medical staff documented extensive facial bruising along with seizures and bleeding on the brain before arranging for the baby to be flown to Dallas for emergency specialist care.
Munoz and Morales were arrested last Tuesday, while Whitt was taken into custody last Thursday.
Each woman faces charges of injury to a child and child endangerment.
According to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, each defendant is being held on bonds totaling $500,000, consisting of $250,000 for each charge.
The investigation remains ongoing.
