Mom Sentenced After Her 3-Month-Old Baby Starved to Death in Texas Hotel Room Containing Weapons, Drugs and Bugs

A Texas mother has been sentenced to decades in prison after her 3-month-old son starved to death in a Waco hotel room.

Skylynn Tuerk was sentenced Thursday, Aug. 21, in Waco’s 54th State District Court on charges of murder, injury to a child, endangering a child, and possession of a controlled substance, according to KXXV, KWTX, and the Waco Tribune-Herald.

Her sentencing followed guilty pleas on all four counts tied to the 2023 death of her infant, per KXXV. Judge Susan Kelly ordered 40 years each for murder and injury to a child, plus two years each for endangering a child and the drug charge, according to both KXXV and KWTX.

The sentences will run concurrently, meaning Tuerk must serve at least 20 years before becoming eligible for parole. She was also credited for the 633 days already spent in custody.

Neither a state attorney nor Tuerk’s legal team immediately responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Sunday, Aug. 24.

The sentencing stems from the November 2023 arrests of Tuerk and Charles Harris after their son — identified in reports as Baby JJ — was found unresponsive at Waco’s New Road Inn, KXXV reported at the time, citing court records.

According to a 2023 KWTX report, the infant was described as “starving and looking like a skeleton” before his death. His 3-year-old sister was also in the room, reportedly within reach of swords and blades, and was placed in state custody.

Investigators also discovered cockroaches, raw meat, and methamphetamine inside the hotel room, per KXXV. KWTX added that officers found half a gram of meth, a drug scale, and little food beyond juice boxes and fruit snacks.

After sentencing, Tuerk’s defense attorney Jonathan Sibley told KXXV that his client “was devastated by the loss of her child.” He added, “Skylynn and her family still grieve for the loss, but are relieved to put this part of the process behind them. They not only lost a child, but will now be without Skylynn for many years.”

Tara Avants, a state attorney, told KXXV that Tuerk “accepted responsibility and received a sentence in the upper end of the punishment range.” She added, “The horrific and irresponsible nature of this defendant’s behavior left us unwilling to agree to any lower punishment.”

A family member told KXXV that the young girl found in the room was recently adopted. Harris, the father, has a court date scheduled for September.