Police officials said the 43-year-old mom, later identified as TaIia, was arrested and later charged with first-degree feIony murder, aggravated mansIaughter of a child and aggravated chiId abuse after she reportedly t0rtured and starved her child to death. Police officials said the boy, Zeyke, weighed only 32 pounds when he was killed and, according to the health officials, the average weight for his age (14) is 110-120 Ibs.
Last month, officers responded to the victim’s home after the mother called 911 and told the dispatcher that her son was unconscious. During an initial interview with investigators, the mother reportedly said that she was cooking dinner for son when she saw that he had fallen to the floor. First responders realized that the child was severeIy maInourished, but the mother explained that her son was ‘skinny’ because he was buIimic, Iactose intoIerant, and Iived with a rare bone disease.
The medicaI examiner told investigators that the 14-year-old boy was extremeIy malnourished” to the point that he had been Iosing bone density. The autopsy also revealed that the child suffered scars on his body that was consistent with being struck by a stick. The medical examiner also told investigators that the manner of death was homicide and the cause of death was abuse and neglect.
In a follow-up interview with investigators, the mother reportedly said that her son would make himself vomit. The woman reportedly said that she probably made a mistake by failing to seek medical attention for her son, especially because he couldn’t walk on his own for the past 2 months. Police officials said the boy was not taken to a hospital in the last 4 years. The doctor who examined the boy in 2020 reportedly wrote in medical records that the child is well-nourished and well-developed patient.
