A Florida woman has been arrested for allegedly instructing a 10-year-old girl to kill a two-month-old baby via the Roblox gaming platform, with the local sheriff saying he has “never seen anything quite like this.”
Tara Alexis Sykes, 36, was charged with attempted murder while engaged in aggravated child abuse after investigators learned of an infant sustaining “serious injuries” after being “dropped on the kitchen floor” by an older child, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said Monday:
The incident was reported on October 17 by the Gulf Coast Kids House, a local nonprofit center that serves young victims of abuse. It was not immediately clear if the children were staying at the house when the injuries took place, but the sheriff’s office noted the 10-year-old was only “temporarily” living in a home with the infant and other adults when the situation occurred.
During their investigation, police learned that Sykes had been communicating with the girl over Roblox’s chat function, and allegedly instructed her on “various methods to kill the infant.”
Strategies discussed by Sykes included drowning the baby in a bathtub, burning them with scalding water, and dropping them on the floor, investigators alleged.
The woman is also accused of telling the girl how to kill the adults in the home, instructing the child to cut their throats while they were asleep and to burn the house down by “dousing bed sheets with aerosol spray and setting them on fire.”
“The 10-year-old doused the sheets but was unable to carry out the instructions,” police noted.
When the girl was interviewed by investigators, she told them “she was terrified” of Sykes and “felt that if she did not follow through with the instructions, Sykes would harm or kill her as well,” the Pensacola News Journal reported of court documents.
Police have not announced any charges against the girl. The investigation is still ongoing.
“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 in a statement.
Simmons also revealed to the News Journal that Sykes had a relationship with the 10-year-old, but did not clarify what kind of relationship that was.
The local outlet reported of more disturbing accusations against Sykes made earlier this year, unveiling a larger alleged pattern of child abuse.
Escambia County court records obtained by the outlet revealed a May 28 arrest on charges of neglecting a child without great bodily harm after Sykes and her husband, James Sykes, allegedly allowed a 20-year-old man to live in their home and impregnate their 14-year-old daughter.
On top of the underage girl allegedly being statuatory raped by the man, Kyle Myers, she also “appeared to be suffering from malnutrition,” according to the publication.
After arresting the Sykes couple, police discovered a thumb drive of messages between Myers and his alleged victim about having sex and getting her pregnant.
“While speaking with (victim) she stated that Tara Sykes and James Sykes [were] holding on to that thumb drive because they had already gotten $10,000 from Myers’ grandmother … by threatening to shoot Myers if the (grandmother) did not pay to protect Myers from death or jail,” a police report stated. “(Victim) said Tara and James Sykes would lock Myers in the house and threaten him with death or harm if he left the house.”
Myers’ grandmother allegedly confirmed to investigators that she gave the Sykes family $10,000 after being threatened with bodily harm and to avoid her grandson being reported to the police for having illegal relations with an underage girl.
According to the older woman, Tara Sykes threatened to “cut Myers open” if she didn’t pay them.
The 14-year-old also told police that her mother threatened to starve her if “she didn’t agree to give her child” to her.
“I’ve seen a lot in my career, but, when you hear about and you see the circumstances like this here, you’re still amazed at the cruelty people can have,” Sheriff Simmons told the outlet. “And in this case it’s toward a 2-month-old infant. To me, it doesn’t get more evil than that.”
