A woman accused of telling a 10-year-old boy to kill a 2-month-old boy in disturbing messages sent on the gaming platform Roblox has had her criminal charges dismissed, according to court records reviewed by Us Weekly show
Tara Sykes37, was arrested in October 2024 on charges of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, solicitation to commit first-degree murder and child abuse without great bodily harm, according to court records.
In October 2024, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office received a report of “a 2-month-old infant who had sustained serious injuries after being fell on the kitchen floor for a 10-year-old boy”.
Investigators eventually learned that the boy had been messaging Sykes through Roblox and that Sykes had “instructed the 10-year-old boy in various methods to kill the baby,” according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
On Thursday, Jan. 22, under a plea deal in which Sykes pleaded no contest to child neglect without great bodily harm, prosecutors dismissed murder-related charges against her, court records show.
She was sentenced to 11 months and 30 days in jail, with credit for having already served 462 days in jail, according to court documents reviewed by we.
A Florida woman who was arrested after being accused of drowning her own 7-month-old daughter in a bathtub has been deemed “not good” during the first court hearing in her case, which took place on Thursday, January 15. Tierra Scott-Franklin has been officially charged with premeditated murder. A judge would not grant him bail (…)
Public defenders representing Sykes did not immediately return calls we’ request for comments on Wednesday, January 28.
During Sykes’ criminal investigation, investigators discovered that Sykes told the 10-year-old to drown the 2-month-old in a bathtub in the messages he was accused of sending on Roblox, according to the sheriff’s office.
He also told the boy to “burn the baby with scalding water and lay the baby on the ground to kill him,” authorities said.
The boy had been temporarily living with adults, who Sykes also instructed the boy in how to kill, according to the sheriff’s office.
Sykes told the boy to kill the adults “by cutting their throats with a knife while they slept and burning down their house by dousing the sheets with spray paint and setting them on fire,” authorities said.
In the end, the 10-year-old boy “cleared the sheets” but did not follow through with the rest of Sykes’ instructions, according to the sheriff’s office.
“I’ve been in law enforcement for over 40 years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Escambia County Sheriff said. Chip W. Simmons said in a statement in October 2024.
“There’s something really wrong with her,” said de Sykes.
At the time, Simmons’ office said Roblox had been cooperating with investigators as the case developed.
An Indiana woman has been arrested after sitting on a one-year-old boy’s face, claiming she was trying to “sacrifice” the child. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department responded to a home on Sunday afternoon, January 18, after receiving a 911 call about a possible child abuse incident. Kendra Lee Proctor was (…)
The company previously said so the Pensacola News Journal in 2024 that, based on an internal investigation, Roblox Messages “did not contain the alleged instructions for violence that resulted in the arrest of Tara Alexis Sykes.”
Prior to the Roblox-related investigation, Sykes was arrested in 2024 on charges of child neglect without great bodily harm in connection with how an adult man impregnated his 14-year-old daughter. the Pensacola News Journal informed
She was later charged with extortion in connection with a threat to kill the man, according to the newspaper.
Sykes is due to appear in court on those charges on April 8, the newspaper reported.