NEED TO KNOW
- A mom has been charged after the body of her 10-month-old daughter was found decomposing inside a cardboard box in her Milwaukee apartment on Aug. 13
- The box the baby was found in was surrounded by flies and maggots, police said
- The cause of the child’s death is being investigated by authorities
A mother has been charged after the body of her 10-month-old daughter was found decomposing in a cardboard box inside her apartment in Milwaukee.
On Aug. 13, a neighbor alerted police to “a foul smell” coming from the home of Shyanna Brothers. When authorities first arrived at the residence, Brothers, 28, told police that the smell came from old food, local outlet WISN and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Police then entered the apartment, where they found the body of Brothers’ 10-month-old daughter, Rayne Taylor, decomposing inside a large cardboard box in a locked bedroom, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the outlets.
Brothers told police that she was a victim of domestic violence and alleged that an unidentified man made her hide the young girl. “He has me hiding her in there,” she said, pointing to the bedroom where her daughter was found, WISN and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
The criminal complaint stated, per the outlets, that Taylor’s body was found in “an advanced state of decomposition.” The cardboard box, the complaint added, was surrounded by flies and maggots.
According to autopsy records obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Taylor suffered a frontal-parietal skull fracture consistent with blunt force trauma.
The official cause of death is still being investigated, the publication added.
In a police interview, Brothers denied killing her daughter, stating she “had no control over how she died,” WISN reported.
Police said Brothers’ statements were inconsistent. They added that she spoke incoherently and appeared as if she was “talking to someone else,” per WISN.
Speaking of Brothers, a neighbor told the local outlet that they “never saw her with a baby.” They also said they saw Brothers spending a lot of time outside and that she had complained about the smell inside her home in the past.
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Defense attorney Stephen Sargent raised concerns about Brothers’ mental health as she appeared in court on Aug. 17, when a doctor’s evaluation was ordered, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
No other suspects are being questioned in relation to Taylor’s death at this time.
The Milwaukee County Police Department did not immediatly respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Saturday, Aug. 23. It is not known if Brothers has legal representation to comment on her behalf.
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.
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