A South Carolina mother is behind bars over a shocking series of allegations including a dead infant and several abused animals.
Sara Constance Shakeri-Taylor, 39, stands accused of one count of homicide by child abuse, three counts of conspiracy, three counts of animal fighting or baiting, and one count of ill treatment of animals, according to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office.
The deceased girl in the case was all of 10 months old when she died of a fentanyl overdose, law enforcement allege.
On May 15, sheriff’s deputies were called to the defendant’s residence on Hardwood Street in Ladson — a census-designated place that spans three South Carolina counties and which is located some 20 miles northwest of Charleston — regarding an unresponsive infant.
On the day of the incident, the child’s father, Sandy Gathers, 41, came home from work at around 3 p.m. to find the child “lying on her stomach” at the foot of the bed — and Shakeri-Taylor fast asleep, according to an affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.