Mother of the 'miracle baby' found crawling by a highway faces a murder charge in older son's death
A Louisiana woman now faces a murder charge three days after her 4-year-old son's body was found in a lake near the Texas state line — and two days after her 1-year-old son was rescued while crawling beside an interstate highway
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Three days after a 4-year-old boy’s body was pulled from a southwest Louisiana lake, and two days after the child's 1-year-old brother was rescued while crawling beside an interstate highway, Louisiana authorities announced a murder charge against the children's mother.
Aaliyah Jack, 25 was arrested earlier this week in Mississippi on a Louisiana charge of failure to report a missing child. On Thursday, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office added charges including cruelty to a juvenile and second-degree murder. She remained in custody in Mississippi after her arrest in the city of Meridian.
It was unclear when she would be extradited. She did not appear in online booking records, and there was no information available on whether she had an attorney who could comment on her behalf. A Louisiana judge set bond at $9.1 million, according to the sheriff's news release.
“Although we have upgraded charges on Jack, our detectives still have a lot of work to do,” Calcasieu Sheriff Gary “Stitch” Guillory said in a news release. “The investigation will continue while we wait for the autopsy results of the victim."
Authorities have not stated a suspected cause of death for the 4-year-old.
Guillory said at a Tuesday news conference that the baby was covered with insect bites but otherwise appeared in good condition. Guillory called the boy a “miracle baby,” having been spotted crawling in a ditch beside Interstate 10 after two days alone in sometimes stormy weather.
Authorities had recovered the dead child's body Monday after getting a report of a body in a lake behind a Louisiana welcome center. An investigation led police to search for Jack, who was arrested in Meridian while the search continued for her missing baby. Workers were preparing to search the water behind the welcome center Tuesday morning when a 911 call came in from a truck driver who spotted the baby, Guillory said.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.