Reyanna Icilma Thomas (Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center)
A 22-year-old mother in Florida was arrested over the weekend after she allegedly filmed and photographed herself physically and verbally abusing her 2-month-old daughter and sent the files to her ex-boyfriend, who is also the baby’s father.
Reyanna Icilma Thomas was taken into custody on Saturday and charged with one count of felony child abuse not resulting in great bodily harm, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Miami ABC affiliate WPLG, the newborn’s father brought his phone to an officer with the North Miami Police Department at about 6:20 p.m. on Saturday and showed them footage of Thomas striking the baby while simultaneously “yelling and cursing at the newborn.
The footage showed Thomas “forcefully” pushing the baby, who police described as appearing “frightened and afraid,” as she called the child a “dumb a — b—-,” the report states. She then sent a photograph of the newborn lying faceup on a bed with what appears to be a blanket on her nose and mouth. The blanket “appeared to restrict (the infant’s) breathing,” police reportedly wrote.
Thomas allegedly followed up the video and photo with a text message that demeans her ex-boyfriend and daughter while also appearing to imply that she left the newborn in the home alone with her pet cat.
“I’m stuck with this thing until she dies,” the message from Thomas reportedly stated. “It makes me so sick that she doesn’t have a different father and I can’t love her because she has a part of you. I’m gonna enjoy my 20s. Left ur sperm in the house with a cat.”
Additionally, police say Thomas threatened her ex-boyfriend, telling him that she would punch their baby “dead in the face.”
Believing that the infant could be in imminent danger while in Thomas’ care, police responded to her home in the 12000 block of Northeast Fifth Avenue and knocked on the door. When no one answered the door, officers on the scene called someone to open the apartment door for them. Inside, police reportedly found both Thomas and the newborn. Thomas was immediately taken into custody while medical personnel with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue examined the baby, who did not appear to have any visible injuries.
During a subsequent interview with police, Thomas reportedly gave a full confession. However, the notes from her interview were reportedly redacted from the affidavit.
She is being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center without bond, jail records show. It was not immediately clear when she was next scheduled to appear in court.
The North Miami Police Department did not immediately respond to messages from Law&Crime seeking additional information in connection to the case against Thomas.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
