The parents of a 3-month-old baby boy who died late last year in a filthy motel room from malnourishment and neglect were indicted Thursday on murder charges and other felonies.
Skylynn Katherine Tuerk, 33, and Charles Devin Harris, 27, were both indicted on four counts. In addition to murder, the McLennan County grand jury charged with with injury to a child, endangering a child, and possession of methamphetamine, KWTX reported.
The baby, Jacob, was found unresponsive in a room at the New Road Inn on November 29 “starving and looking like a skeleton,” police said. He died later that day at a hospital.
A doctor said the infant “died as a result of starvation because he was very malnourished and possibly shaken baby syndrome due to the injuries he observed,” police wrote in a report filed in court.
A person reported the situation to Child Protective Services and said the baby weighed about 7 pounds at birth at 10 pounds when he died. The person, who visited the filthy room where the family was staying, said that Tuerk was “nonchalant” about the baby’s condition and played “video games the entire time.”
Police responded the day after the report to CPS and found the family living in “unclean and dangerous” conditions, describing the boy as “very thin and malnourished.” CPS took custody of his 3-year-old sister.
Officers also found a half gram of meth anda. drug scale in a backpack in the room, according to court documents. They also documented cockroaches in the area where one of the children slept and found “numerous knives and swords with blades explosed within the reach of the 3-year-old girl.”
Investigators said they found no “real food for the children and there was no baby formula for Jacob.”
“The only food found for the children were a couple of juice boxes and fruit snacks,” the documents said.
Harris was ordered held on a $57,000 bond, and Tuerk was given a $55,000 bond.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Skylynn Katherine Tuerk and Charles Devin Harris/McLennan County Sheriff’s Office]
