Neglect Charges Issued After Child’s Death

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A 19-year-old St. Louis County woman was charged Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, with abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death after authorities said her 11-month-old daughter died from blunt force trauma following an April 8, 2026, emergency response at a home on Torii Drive.

The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office issued the charge against Shaykala Watson, of the 8800 block of Torii Drive in St. Louis. Watson is being held on a $500,000 cash-only bond, with no 10% option. The child was identified as only 11 months old. Authorities said Watson was the child’s mother.

According to the probable cause statement, officers responded April 8 to St. Louis Children’s Hospital for an investigation into injuries suffered by a child less than 1 year old. Officers and paramedics had responded to Watson’s home in St. Louis County, where they found the child suffering from injuries, the statement said.

EMS took the child to Children’s Hospital, where doctors attempted to save the child’s life but were unsuccessful, according to the statement.

The probable cause statement said Watson admitted in an interview that she was alone with the child at her St. Louis County residence, placed the child on the kitchen floor, and pressed down on the child’s torso with extreme force.

Medical and autopsy records showed the child died as a result of blunt force trauma to the chest and abdomen, the statement said. The records also noted fractured ribs, lacerations of internal organs and an atrial contusion, according to the statement.

Charges are accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. St. Louis County Police Department Bureau of Crimes Against Persons detectives are handling the investigation.