Louisiana mother allegedly abused and starved 1-year-old to death then sobbed about ‘my baby’ on Facebook
A 28-year-old mother from Louisiana was charged with first-degree murder after she allegedly starved her one-year-old son to death. The mother, identified as Tonika Willoughby, has also been accused of inflicting "horrific" injuries on the toddler in prolonged abuse at her home in Labadieville and then later sobbing about the child on Facebook.
A Facebook page, which appeared to belong to Willoughby, posted about the child's death on November 9 stating: "November 09 2020 is. Da worst day of mah life," according to Metro. There was another post made from the page on the same day of the child's demise and had pictures of the boy and Willoughby’s other children. The second post with the pictures was captioned: "Lord i need u right now this is just way too much fa me mah bby mah bby." The page also posted a row of crying emojis on the day Willoughby was arrested. The account has not been active since then.
Reports state that sheriff deputies were called at Willoughby's house on November 9 after she called in emergency services, saying that her baby was unresponsive. The toddler was rushed to the hospital after detectives arrived at the scene, however, he was pronounced dead nearly an hour later. Authorities arrested the mother the next day after interviewing her and analyzing the medical notes about the child's death. A coroner later ruled the cause of the child's death as neglect and abuse.
Captain Lonny Cavalier from Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office, while talking about the preliminary results of the toddler's autopsy report, said that it was "horrific". Cavalier added: "There were significant indications that this has been going on for some time and the child was malnourished as well.” Reports state that Willoughby's two other children have been placed in care by social services. The 28-year-old is currently being held in Assumption Parish Jail before her next court hearing.
In a somewhat similar case earlier this year, a 23-year-old woman from Maryland was charged with first-degree murder after she reportedly admitted to starving her 15-month-old baby daughter for over three weeks until she died, according to police. The woman, identified as Kiearra Tolson, of Silver Spring, then threw the child's body in the trash. The Montgomery County Police Department, in a press release, said that Tolson was arrested on July 8 after an acquaintance called 911 to report that the woman had told her that she killed her daughter, identified as Blair Niles.
When Tolson was interviewed by police over the report, she allegedly confessed to the investigators and told them that she had starved her daughter for nearly three-and-a-half weeks. She added that the girl died last month and she had placed her body in a pillowcase and trash bags. Tolson then later discarded it in a dumpster at her apartment complex on November Circle on June 17. Authorities have said that although Blair's body has not been recovered, the investigators in the case have found evidence in the mother's apartment corroborating her account, according to the Daily Mail. According to a court filing, police found a pillow without a pillowcase in Tolson's apartment.