1-Year-Old Missouri Girl Allegedly Fed Just 250 Calories a Day From Food Pouches Before Starving to Death, Police Say
A Missouri child abuse case has left St. Louis shaken after police said a 1-year-old girl died from apparent starvation while allegedly being fed a tiny daily diet of yogurt, vegetable pouches, and fruit pouches.
Authorities say the child weighed just 10 pounds when officers found her unresponsive inside an apartment on the 4300 block of St. Ferdinand Avenue in St. Louis. Now, her mother, 29-year-old Sausha Mia Myers, is facing serious criminal charges as investigators try to determine how two young children allegedly became so severely malnourished inside the home.
Myers has been charged with two counts of child abuse and neglect resulting in serious physical injury. Police said an autopsy is expected to determine the official cause of death, and additional charges could still follow.
A Call for Help Turned Into a Child Neglect Investigation
According to a probable cause statement, officers were called to the apartment on Sunday after Myers reported that her 1-year-old daughter was nonresponsive and breathing slowly.
When officers arrived, they found the little girl on the living room floor with no pulse and no signs of life, police said. A 3-year-old child was also inside the apartment.
Investigators said both children appeared “severely malnourished and emaciated.” Paramedics rushed both children to the hospital, but doctors pronounced the 1-year-old dead.
The second child survived and was admitted for medical treatment, according to police. Authorities said the 3-year-old weighed about 17 pounds, far below what officers described as a healthy average weight for a child that age.
Police Say the Children Had Not Seen a Doctor in a Year
Investigators said Myers told them neither child had been seen by a doctor in about a year.
According to the affidavit, Myers said the older child had previously been under the care of a doctor in Texas because of low weight. She allegedly told police that the doctor had spoken to her about proper nutrition.
Police said neither child had a known medical condition that would have prevented them from gaining weight properly.
That detail is now central to the case. Investigators are alleging that the children’s condition was not the result of an unavoidable illness, but of a failure to provide the food and care needed to keep them healthy.
The Alleged Daily Diet Was Only About 250 Calories
One of the most disturbing claims in the case is the amount of food the 1-year-old was allegedly receiving.
Police said Myers told investigators the child’s diet consisted of yogurt, vegetable pouches, and fruit pouches. Authorities said that when combined, the food amounted to about 250 calories per day.
For a toddler, that number is shockingly low. Police noted that the child weighed only 10 pounds at the time of her death, while the average weight for a girl her age is about 24 pounds.
Investigators also said the child’s condition had worsened during the two weeks before her death, but Myers allegedly did not seek medical care.
Police reported that the child also had bedsores on her head and back.
The Surviving Child Remains in Treatment
The 3-year-old child found inside the home is still receiving medical care, according to authorities.
Police said the child showed signs of serious malnutrition, including lanugo, a soft, fine hair that can appear when the body does not have enough fat to stay warm. Investigators also reported scars on the child’s chest and stomach and said the child is nonverbal.
The child’s survival may now become an important part of the investigation. Doctors, investigators, and child welfare officials will likely examine not only the child’s medical condition, but also how long the alleged neglect may have continued before police were called.
A Case That Raises Painful Questions
This case is not only about one criminal charge sheet. It raises painful questions about what happens behind closed doors when vulnerable children are isolated from doctors, relatives, schools, or other adults who might notice warning signs.
The children were very young. They could not call for help. They could not explain what was happening. Police say one child died and another was found in a condition serious enough to require hospital care.
That is why cases like this often hit communities so hard. They force people to ask whether anyone saw signs earlier, whether systems missed opportunities to intervene, and how a child could have reached such a fragile condition before emergency help arrived.
Mother Held Without Bond
Myers was arrested and taken to the St. Louis City Justice Center, where police said she is being held without bond.
Her next court date has not yet been scheduled, according to the report.
For now, the charges remain allegations, and Myers is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. But the details described by investigators have already made the case one of deep public concern.
A 1-year-old girl is dead. A 3-year-old is recovering in a hospital. And authorities are now trying to answer the question at the center of the case: how did two children become so dangerously malnourished before anyone outside the apartment stepped in?
