BOONVILLE, Ind. (WXIN) – A southern Indiana couple failed to adequately feed their baby, resulting in the infant’s starvation and eventual death, police say.
Caylin Opal Marie Monroe, 23, and Jakob Chance Scott, 22, were arrested this week and charged with murder and neglect of a dependent resulting in death.
The investigation began on Feb. 15, when police were called to the couple’s Boonville home and found the infant unresponsive. Fire department personnel had begun CPR on the baby but were unable to resuscitate him.
The baby, identified as 3-month-old Silas Scott, died as a result of “malnourishment and starvation,” according to the coroner’s office. The autopsy showed there was no food in the baby’s stomach.
Caylin Monroe, the boy’s mother, told investigators her son was “small but healthy” after being born and conceded he had “difficulty growing.” Her mother thought there was something wrong with Silas and a friend wondered why he was so small.
Monroe told police she “never had time to call and get a new pediatrician” to examine the baby. She said she had a feeding plan but admitted she didn’t feed him sometimes. Monroe said she should’ve taken him to the doctor but believed she could “get his weight back up and make him better.”
She told investigators she didn’t seek help for Silas because she was afraid her children would be taken away.
She said there were “times where she would forget” Silas because he wasn’t making any noise or was asleep. Monroe said she hadn’t fed him the night before he died.
In an interview with police, Jakob Scott said Monroe took care of the children when he was at work while he was the primary caregiver when she was working. He said he tried to stick to a feeding schedule for Silas, but the baby “wouldn’t take it” sometimes.
When asked if he knew why the baby died, Scott stated, “because he didn’t eat enough,” according to court documents.
He admitted he sometimes forgot to feed the baby. He wasn’t sure when Silas had last eaten and told police he’d “feed him if he was crying.” He also agreed he sometimes skipped feeding the boy if he wasn’t crying, court documents said.
“Jakob agreed with me that he did have the thought that he knew [the baby] would end up dead if he didn’t take him to the hospital,” the investigator wrote in the probable cause affidavit.
The parents had their initial hearing earlier this week. A trial date has not yet been scheduled.
