Woman Allegedly Messaged 10-Year-Old on Roblox to ‘Drop’ Baby on Ground

A Florida woman is under arrest after police say she instructed a child to drop an infant on the floor and slit the throats of adults in a household before burning the victims. 

Police in Escambia County, Fla., arrested 36-year-old Tara Alexis Sykes on a charge of attempted murder while engaged in aggravated child abuse, the county sheriff’s office said in a statement. 

Authorities at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office were alerted on Thursday, Oct. 17, about a 2-month-old who had been severely injured after the 10-year-old allegedly “dropped” the infant on the kitchen floor, per the statement. 

The call came from the Gulf Coast Kids House, an advocacy center for victims of child abuse that also investigates and prosecutes cases of child abuse. It wasn’t immediately clear if the assault took place at the facility or how the case was brought to the attention of people there. The organization declined to comment when contacted, but said: “We are appalled and saddened by this case.”

The investigation revealed that the 10-year-old had allegedly been ordered by Sykes to harm several people, including the infant and the adults they were living with, per the statement.  

Sykes allegedly advised the child through gaming platform Roblox on various methods of harming the child, including drowning the infant in the bathtub, burning the baby with scalding water and dropping them on the floor, per the statement. 

The sheriff’s office further alleges that Sykes gave the 10-year-old instructions to slit the throats of the adults temporarily living with the child. The minor was allegedly told to douse the sheets in the house with aerosol spray and set the adults on fire, per the statement. 

The 10-year-old allegedly carried out some of the instructions: the child dropped the infant “on a solid tile floor” and doused the sheets, police allege. The child was unable to set the adults on fire, according to police. 

Police did not announce any charges against the 10-year-old.

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“I have been in Law Enforcement for over 40 years and have never seen anything quite like this,” Sheriff Chip W. Simmons said in the statement. “I am truly disturbed by the circumstances and the thought that anyone could think like this, let alone instruct these acts to be carried out.”

“There is something really wrong with her,” Simmons said.

Officials at ECSO said there may be further charges as the investigation proceeds.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Sykes has entered a plea or retained an attorney to speak 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.