Unfortunately, mothers committing crimes involving the neglect or murder of their children isn’t an oddity in the United States.
In 2021, 311 children died due to abuse from both parents and 408 died from abuse or maltreatment from their mothers alone, according to the Statista Research Department.
Below are 14 cases in which mothers were charged with the murder, abuse or neglect of their children. Some were accused of careless mistakes that turned out to merit criminal charges. Others were accused of heinous acts that were so vile, they brought judges and juries to tears.
Approach this list with caution.
A Fatal Fire
Brandi Sturdivant was charged with three counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of her 4-year-old and 1-year-old twins. Police claim she left home the morning of Dec. 12, 2022 and returned to find her house engulfed in flames.
Sturdivant told investigators she believed the fire sparked from a stove in the living room used to heat the home instead of the baseboard heater, via My FOX 8. She also admitted to repeatedly leaving the children home alone as she went out at night.
A Grave Mistake
Mariah Thomas, 26, was arrested after her child was found unresponsive in her home. Kansas City authorities allege her grandfather smelled smoke inside the home and found Thomas’ child not breathing in her crib. They said the child was covered with burns and damaged clothing that looked melted.
Thomas told investigators she accidentally placed the baby in the oven instead of the crib for a nap. She is charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
A Foul Social Media Stunt
Jasmine Moss, 30, ran a hair removal business out of her home. Moss was reported to authorities after her 5-year-old was allegedly seen in a video on social media applying hot wax to the nude, private areas of multiple adult women.
In the social media post, Moss wrote that her daughter waxed over 24 clients in a single day. She was charged with child neglect after a controversial social media post.
Walmart Welfare Check
A Walmart employee captured 26-year-old Kambria Darby strolling around the freezer section with her shivering child who was barely clothed. The employee called the police to report the concern, and Darby was seen in the video arguing that she had the police called on her twice already.
The police arrested Darby in the parking lot. She was charged with child neglect.
A Fatal Neglect
Phoenix police arrested Sara Harris after her mother called 911 to report an unresponsive infant. Police said they found a 1-month-old lying limp on the mattress in the living room. Harris told investigators the infant was being fussy and she tried to use children’s NyQuil and a bit of food to soothe him. Surveillance footage revealed she left the baby alone for two days after.
Harris was charged with child abuse and second-degree murder.
A 1999 Cold Case
In February 1999, police discovered the remains of 6-year-old William DaShawn Hamilton in the woody area near a cemetery. It wasn’t until 2020 that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children rendered digital images of his face.
Police then received a tip from the boy’s old neighbor which eventually led them to believe his mother, Teresa Black, was involved in his death.
Black told investigators she and her son were unsheltered at the time of his death. She said she gave him cold medicine the night before he died because she believed he was sick and took him to the cemetery to sleep. When she woke up, she said she realized he was deceased and fled.
Black was charged with felony murder, cruelty to children, aggravated assault and concealing the death of another. However, a Dekalb County jury acquitted her of all charges except concealing the death of another.
A Child’s 911 Call
Miami-Dade police responded to the call of a 6-year-old boy who claimed his mother, Demetria Spencer, left him and his 2-year-old brother home alone without food and electricity. When they arrived at the home, the children looked like they hadn’t been bathed and the home was filthy. Spencer was located nearly eight hours later.
She was charged with two counts of child neglect causing no great bodily harm.
When “Missing” Became “Murdered”
Nakira Griner, 28, reported her 2-year-old son Daniel missing in 2019, claiming he’d been abducted while she walked to a store in Bridgeton, N.J. However, the police bloodhounds used to embark on the search tracked the baby’s scent to Griner’s backyard. The boy’s autopsy revealed blunt force trauma resulting in his skull being broken in 74 pieces. His remains were also burnt.
Griner confessed to assaulting her son, placing his body in the oven and dismembering him before burying him in the backyard. Griner was found guilty of first-degree murder, desecration of human remains, child endangerment, evidence tampering and false public alarm.
A Nationally Debated Miscarriage
Brittany Watts, 33, was only 22 weeks along in her pregnancy when she suddenly felt a contraction while using the bathroom. Watts told the Warren Police Department she felt the infant passing and then a “big splash.”
When police responded to her call, they said the infant’s remains were stuck in the toilet. Prosecutors accused Watts of trying to plunge her child down the drain. However, a jury declined to indict Watts on criminal charges in connection to her miscarriage.
The Child in the Suitcase
After months on the run, Dejuane Anderson was arrested in March in connection to the death of her 5-year-old-son Cairo, whose remains were found in a suitcase in 2022.
Anderson’s partner, Dawn Coleman, told police she found Anderson lying on top of the boy while he was face down on the bed. Authorities also discovered a series of concerning social media posts from Anderson suggesting she premeditated the killing because her son was “trying to kill her” and had been possessed by a “powerful demonic force.”
Anderson faces charges of murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death and obstruction of justice.
A Tortured Adopted Teen
Felicia Adams-Franks and Jesse Franks were accused of brutally torturing their adopted son, 15-year-old Karreon Franks, to death. During the trial for the couple, it was revealed that Karreon had a developmental delay, autism and blindness, and was nonverbal. He also struggled to keep food down but police say his parents kept food from him.
On several occasions, Karreon was locked in a room, hit with a paddle or electrical cord. He eventually died of starvation. The Franks were found guilty of homicide by abuse and second-degree murder. Each of them were sentenced to up to 35 years in prison, per KOIN.
10 Days Alone
Kristel Candelario, 32, was sentenced to life in prison for aggravated murder and child endangerment in the death of 16-month-old Jailyn. According to the Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office, from June 6 to June 16, 2023, Candelario left the baby unattended while she traveled to Detroit and Puerto Rico.
Jailyn was found in her Pack-N-Play covered in soiled blankets. The county medical examiner said she died of starvation and severe dehydration from pediatric neglect, per NBC News.
Case of Co-Sleeping
Aaliyah Lykins was charged with reckless homicide and neglect of a dependent. Police say she was breastfeeding her 2-week-old daughter and fell asleep. An affidavit states when she woke up, her daughter went into cardiac arrest. The baby was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Police said in court documents that this was not the first time an incident like this happened: Lykins’ 2-month-old son died during a co-sleeping incident two years ago, court documents said.
A Fateful Drop
Persia Nelson Nelson is alleged to have dropped 10-month-old Halo Branton down an 8-foot pipe at the General Electric campus in Schenectady, New York. She was charged with second-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child, per News10.
