NEED TO KNOW
Three women have been arrested and charged after a 2-month-old infant was allegedly locked in a room with two children aged 4 and 6, and suffered severe head trauma
Moms Sidney Whitt, 21, and Jacqulyn Morales, 29, locked the children in a bedroom before leaving them in the care of Morales’s sister, 18-year-old Shelby Munoz
Hospital staff alerted police, who found the children living in a home infested with flies and littered with diapers and rat feces
Two mothers are among three women arrested and charged after a 2-month-old infant suffered severe head trauma when the infant was locked in a room in a fly-infested home with two young children.
Moms Jacqulyn Morales, 29, and Sidney Whitt, 21, left a home in Tyler, Texas, after allegedly locking the infant in a bedroom with children aged 4 and 6 while they went out partying on Tuesday, June 16, according to KLTV and the Tyler Morning Telegraph, citing police.
They left Morales’ sister, 18-year-old Shelby Munoz, in charge of the children while they were out, per a press release from the Smith County Sheriff’s Office seen by the outlets.
Police reportedly claimed that Morales and Whitt traveled to a hotel to meet a man and consume drugs and alcohol before returning the following day.
SIDNEY WHITT
Credit: Smith County Sheriff’s Office
During the night, the older children allegedly began tossing the 2-month-old and stomped on the infant’s head, KLTV reported, citing the release.
According to the release, Munoz didn’t intervene, saying she was not responsible for their care, while Whitt and Morales did not seek medical care for the infant when they came back to the house, the outlets noted.
The 2-month-old was taken to a local hospital on Thursday, June 18. Per KLTV, the infant presented with head trauma consistent with child abuse and was suffering from brain bleeding, seizures, and facial bruising.
Jacqulyn Michelle Morales
Credit: Smith County Sheriff’s Office
The infant was airlifted to Children’s Medical Center in Dallas for specialized treatment and remained on a ventilator over a medically induced coma over a week later, the outlet reported.
Hospital staff and child protective services alerted the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, which interviewed the women and children while preparing a search warrant.
Officers found that the home was infested with flies and the floor was littered with rat feces and diapers, and that the children were often locked in a room when their moms left the home, per KLTV.
SHELBY MUNOS
Credit: Smith County Sheriff’s Office
Munoz and Morales were arrested on Tuesday, June 23, and Whitt was arrested two days later, the outlet reported. The trio has been charged with endangering a child and injury to a child.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
They were booked into the Smith County Jail and are being held on collective bonds of $500,000.
PEOPLE reached out to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office but did not immediately hear back.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
Read the original article on People