Mother Charged with Child Cruelty Left Toddler to Eat Roaches, Detective Reveals

The detective who investigated the death of a one-year-old Georgia boy found in a home where he had apparently been left to eat roaches and ants has revealed new information about the investigation.

The grim story was related to a court during a bond hearing for the child’s mother, Sherry Magby, 37, of Douglas County, who has been charged with five counts of child cruelty. Magby allegedly left her six children, including one-year-old Jacob Slanton, alone at their insect-infested home for up to 12 hours per day.

Investigators said that she left the children in the care of her eldest child — a 10-year-old — while she was out.

According to Douglasville Detective Andre Futch, police became aware of the situation in early April after a 911 call was made reporting the one-year-old, Jacob, was unresponsive.

Futch was among those who responded to the scene. He told the court that one of the children claimed Jacob was not given proper food, and had been left to feed on ants and roaches, WSB-TV reports.

“Upon entering the residence, officers immediately detected a strong, foul odor consistent with unsanitary living conditions,” officers said in the police report. “The residence was further observed to be in a state of significant disorder, with every room in disarray, further evidencing unsuitable living conditions.”

The 10-year-old reportedly told police that his baby brother had been sick, and that he'd tried to help him sleep by giving him Nyquil in his bottle.

When questioned, Magby reportedly told police that she had to leave the house to work, but had returned multiple times during the day to check on the children. Futch said officers followed up with her boss, who told them she left work around 6 p.m.

“It was found out she never returned back to the residence,” Futch said during the hearing.

He claims that she went to a hotel to spend time with her boyfriend rather than return to her children.

Investigators spoke to Magby's neighbors who reportedly told them that she regularly left the children alone.

Magby's attorney, Mac Pilgrim, described her as a single mother of six trying to care for her children while navigating extreme financial difficulty.

“We’re here because my client is poor,” he told the court before asking for bond.

The judge decided not to grant bond.

“The court does find that there is a likelihood, a serious likelihood that you will re-offend if you were granted bond in this case," Douglas County Superior Court Judge Cynthia Adams told Magby at the hearing.

Magby is facing a separate aggravated assault charge stemming from an incident in which she allegedly attacked one of her sons with a knife in 2023. The judge revoked her bond in that case during the same hearing.

The judge has prohibited Magby from contacting any of her children.