A Louisiana woman has been charged with murder in connection with the death of her 4-year-old son, days after her 1-year-old son was found alive in a ditch along a highway.
Aaliyah N. Jack, 25, was arrested on Monday, July 8, and initially charged with failure to report a missing child, police said. She has now been charged with additional offenses, including murder.
Her 1-year-old son, who the local sheriff has dubbed “our miracle baby,” was rescued by a trucker on a Louisiana highway after the child reportedly spent two days outside alone, Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Gary “Stitch” Guillory said at a press conference, according to the Associated Press.
On Tuesday, July 9, Calcasieu Parish deputies responded to a sighting of the child and soon were able to identify him, the department said in a statement.
Authorities were already on the lookout for the child due to an investigation into the child’s mother, which began earlier this week.
On Monday, Calcasieu Parish police were notified of a body in the water at a rest stop in the parish, per the department’s statement.
Once they identified the child, whose name has not been released, police received information that he was last seen with his mother and his 1-year-old sibling.
Authorities then issued an arrest warrant for Aaliya -
h for failure to report a missing child, police said.
They soon located Aaliyah in Mississippi but without her 1-year-old son, who would be found on the highway the next morning.
On Wednesday, police charged Aaliyah with second-degree murder, cruelty to a juvenile and failure to report a missing child, the sheriff’s office said in a press release.
The children's grandmother,Conswella Jack, told the Acadiana Advocate she's navigating her mixed emotions.
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“I was so blessed to hear the baby survived but also so hurt because one is now gone,” she said, per Acadiana Advocate.
A judge has set Aaliyah's bond at $9.1 million, per police. It wasn't immediately clear if Aaliyah has entered pleas 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.
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