Terica Scott and Dineshia Yates, Baton Rouge, Louisiana mothers go gambling while leaving 8 children alone, two of whom, a 10 year old and 12 year boys beat 3 year old girl, Blessing Buckles to death.
She never stood a chance… Two Louisiana cousins aged 10 and 12 have been charged with the beating murder of a three-year-old girl while their moms were out gambling at a casino.
Terica Scott and Dineshia Yates, both 26, were booked after leaving eight kids ranging in age from 11 months to 12 years old home alone in Baton Rouge, according to WAFB.
Yates’ daughter Blessing Buckles suffered a brain bleed after the attack by the juvenile suspects – who are Scott’s son, 10, and her nephew, 12 and described as cousins.
‘ignored her children’s pleas for help’
East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office said they responded to a call about Blessing being unconscious at Scott’s home on O’Neal lane in the Louisiana capital on February 12.
Deputies said a child made the call at around 3.45pm and there were no adults in the house when they arrived. Scott and Yates pulled up in the driveway shortly after.
The pair admitted that all eight children had been left home alone for several hours while they were out gambling at the casino, police said.
Scott also said she was aware that her nephew had a history of violence towards other children.
Yates told cops that she and her kids had been staying with Scott for two weeks before the deadly beating.
Yates said she had seen bruises on at least one of her daughters after they were left alone with the boy but she ‘ignored her children’s pleas for help’, according to arrest records seen by WAFB.
Scott and Yates were each charged with principal to simple battery and principal to second-degree murder over Blessing’s death.
The two boys responsible for the attack were also arrested and charged with one count each of battery and second-degree murder.
Blessing did not die straight away – EMTs tried to resuscitate her at the home before transporting to her to the hospital in a critical condition.
She succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead two days later, on February 14, according to WDSU.
Blessing suffered a brain bleed and bruising to her face and body likely to have been caused by blunt force trauma, authorities said.
Moms prior criminal histories
At the time of her death, Yates and her children had been staying with Scott and her family, and they admitted to police that they regularly left all eight juveniles home alone to go gambling.
The pair are close friends but not related, and they both have criminal records.
Yates was previously arrested for stealing $20 worth of clothes from a Walmart, and for stealing an iPad, two guns and business checks from a home, according to WBRZ.
She also reportedly launched a brick through the windshield of another woman’s car in 2020.
Scott was charged with murder in 2021 for allegedly shooting a woman to death, but she was never indicted by a grand jury.
She was also charged with arson in 2023 for allegedly setting fire to a car outside someone’s home.
Witnesses said Scott tampered with security cameras to try to avoid detection, according to a previous WBRZ report.
‘A case like this is devastating,’ Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said in a statement following the arrests.
‘My heart breaks for this child lost too soon, and I pray for the others involved. Please call law enforcement immediately if you are ever aware of abuse, neglect or desertion of children.’
As of Monday afternoon, both Scott and Yates remained in the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail under a $40,000 bond each, according to AL.com.
The whereabouts of the childrens’ fathers was not immediately known…
