A 28-year-old Wisconsin woman, Shyanna Brothers, is facing charges after authorities discovered she had allegedly been living with the decomposing body of her 10-month-old daughter inside a cardboard box. Brothers reportedly told police she had been “forced to hurt my kid and hide the body.”
According to a criminal complaint, the case began on Wednesday, August 13, when Milwaukee police officers responded to a N. 27th Street apartment following a weapons complaint at around 1:01 a.m.
The caller reportedly told authorities that “it smelled like someone died” inside the residence. At the scene, a woman—later identified as Brothers—allegedly told officers, “The baby is gone.”
Initially, Brothers claimed the odor was from “old food” in the apartment, according to the complaint. When asked about her earlier statement, she allegedly replied, “Yeah people lose kids. I lost a child,” and explained she was “going through a lot.”
She also told investigators she had recently escaped a domestic violence relationship and said her partner “did a lot of sick stuff.” Brothers allegedly claimed that the child’s father killed their daughter weeks earlier.
Discovery of the Decomposed Body
When Brothers allowed officers inside the apartment, police noted a strong smell of decomposition. In a bedroom, they found a large cardboard box on the floor covered with “hundreds of dead flies.” Inside was the body of a 10-month-old girl in an advanced state of decomposition.
Detectives reported that the apartment contained no furniture and that maggots were present on the child’s body. Fluids from the decomposition had soaked through the bottom of the cardboard box.
An autopsy revealed a skull fracture consistent with blunt force trauma. The official cause and manner of death are pending further test results, according to the complaint.
Troubling Interviews
During an interview, Brothers allegedly told detectives, “I was told I wasn’t in trouble” and claimed she had “no control over how she died.” She further stated she had been raped in the apartment and forced to harm her child.
In both her initial questioning and a follow-up interview on August 14, investigators reported that Brothers struggled to understand their questions and made incoherent statements. At one point, she allegedly said, “My name is Ahsley, I’m the greatest girl in the world.” She later added, “My name is Brenda. I killed your kid because my name is Brendan,” and “My name is Ashley, I tried to steal her face.”
As reported by Law & Crime, Shyanna Brothers has been charged with hiding the corpse of a child. She is being held on a $50,000 bond, and the results of a mental health evaluation are pending.
