Background: The Shelbyville, Indiana, home where Sophie Igou lived with her children (WXIN). Inset: Sophie Igou (Shelbyville Police Department).
An Indiana woman who was found with her dead toddler in the driveway of her home now faces charges of neglect.
Sophie Igou, 28, appeared in a Shelby County courtroom on Tuesday to face two counts of felony neglect resulting in death in connection with her 22-month-old son and three counts of neglect in connection with her two other children. Igou was arrested Sept. 17 after she called 911 and reported that her son Jasper was dead. Court documents reviewed by Law&Crime revealed more details about the condition of the boy, including the observation by first responders that he had been dead “for a significant amount of time.”
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Police brought Igou in for an interview after she consented to a search of her home. After she was read her rights, Igou told a Shelbyville Police Department detective that she was separated from her husband and living with their three children — 22-month-old Jasper, a 4-year-old child, and an 8-year-old son. According to the probable cause affidavit, she said that her husband had not seen the children for five weeks.
Igou told police that Jasper had been “having trouble holding down food” and vomited around noon on the day she called 911. She also claimed to have changed Jasper”s diaper before putting him to bed that night.
Police stated in their report that Jasper’s body was “in a significant state of decomposition” and that his diaper was “overflowing.” When told by the detective that Jasper had been dead for “a significant period of time” before she called 911, the report stated that Igou “appeared to act surprised.” She then reportedly asked, “[D]id I do this?”
When police searched Igou’s home, they determined that the inside was “covered in refuse and infested with insects” and was “demonstrative of hoarding behavior.” An inspection of the crib where Jasper was said to sleep revealed “decomposing material,” which was believed to have come from the boy’s body.
Preliminary reports from Jasper’s autopsy stated that the toddler was “extremely emaciated and malnourished.” At the time of his death, the 22-month-old’s body weighed just 14 pounds; his recorded weight from his last doctor’s appointment in January 2024, when he was around 2 months old, was 10 pounds. Results from the autopsy are still pending.
Igou told police that she had not taken any of her children to the doctor because she was “trying to get her bearings as a single mom.” She told police that she was trying to get her oldest son enrolled in online schooling, but police said there was “no record” of the 8-year-old boy attending school.
Igou was charged with two counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in death and three counts of neglect of a dependent. She is being held at the Shelby County Jail on $2 million bond. Her next court date is scheduled for Nov. 19.
