Ind. Mom Sentenced for Starving Her Baby Son to Death, Then Claiming She Forgot to Feed Him

An Indiana mother who claimed she sometimes forgot to feed her baby has been sentenced to decades behind bars over the infant’s starvation death.

Caylin Monroe was sentenced to 65 years in prison on Friday, Nov. 15, about a month after a jury found her guilty of murder and neglect of a dependent resulting in death, according to online Warrick County court records. 

The charges stem from the 2022 death of Monroe’s 3-month-old son, Silas Chance-Kent Scott, whose autopsy showed he died of starvation, PEOPLE previously reported.

The investigation began in February 2022 after the Warrick County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home on a report of an unresponsive infant, per a statement shared at the time.

According to the affidavit of probable cause previously obtained by PEOPLE, Monroe, then 23, told police that Silas was born “small, but healthy,” and “had difficulty growing.”

During the interview, Monroe said that she had fed the baby earlier that day, but an autopsy found no formula or milk in the baby’s stomach. She then claimed that she sometimes forgot to feed her son if he was quiet, or if she was busy taking care of her other children.

The affidavit also stated that DCS previously investigated Monroe because of an incident with another child. She was required to keep a feeding log for that child.

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Monroe was soon arrested along with the baby’s father, Jakob Scott, then 22. During a police interview with Scott, he allegedly admitted the baby didn’t eat if he didn’t cry, per the affidavit. He also couldn’t recall if Silas had been fed the day of his death.

Scott is facing the same charges of murder and neglect of a dependent resulting in death. According to online court records, Scott’s jury trial was canceled on Nov. 12 and a status conference is scheduled for Dec. 2.

The Courier & Press reported in September 2024 that Scott pleaded not guilty.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.