Left: Sidney Whitt. Center: Jacqulun Morales. Right: Shelby Munoz (Smith County Sheriff’s Office).
Two moms in Texas left their children, ages 6 and 4 — and a 2-month-old baby — alone in a locked bedroom while they were out partying at a hotel, leading to a horrific incident where the older kids tossed and stomped on the infant‘s head, cops say.
The mothers, Sidney Whitt, 21, and Jacqulun Morales, 29, allegedly placed the children in the care of Morales’ 18-year-old sister, Shelby Munoz, and locked them in a bedroom before leaving to go drink alcohol and use drugs with a man at a local hotel, according to local ABC affiliate KLTV and local CBS affiliate KYTX.
A police press release obtained by the television stations says the children tossed the 2-month-old around and stomped on the baby’s head until the child began having seizures and suffered a brain bleed. Extensive facial bruising was also reported by doctors after the infant was brought to a local hospital.
The child was placed in a medically induced coma after being hospitalized, KLTV reports.
Child Protective Services and hospital staff notified police on June 18, and the Smith County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation.
Munoz allegedly told detectives what happened and said she didn’t intervene because the children “were not hers” and she didn’t believe their safety was her responsibility, KLTV reports. Whitt and Morales came home to find the infant severely injured and did not seek medical help until the following day, police say.
When investigators searched the home where the child was injured, they “discovered that the home lacked air conditioning and was infested with flies,” according to the police press release. “The floor was heavily littered with rat feces, diapers, and clothing,” the release says.
Munoz and Morales were arrested last Tuesday, while Whitt was arrested on Thursday. The trio was charged with child endangerment and injury to a child. They were each being held on a $250,000 bond for each charge.
The Smith County Sheriff’s Office told KLTV that the infant was on a ventilator and remained in a medically induced coma as of Friday.
