Latasha Wilson almost got away with murder. The 19-year-old Missouri woman was initially charged with abandoning her newborn baby after she gave birth in January in the bathroom of the Walmart where she worked. The baby was found burnt and decomposed in a cave, and the teen told police she had no idea how he had died. But thanks to new test results, it was discovered that Latasha hadn't just left her infant to die, she committed some of the most ghastly and cruel acts you can think of in order to ensure her baby wouldn't survive.
Police, who originally suspected the young mom had given birth to a stillborn baby, say that after she delivered him in the store bathroom, she left her child lying in toilet water for three hours. She then reportedly wrapped his body in paper towels and hid him in her work locker.
Latasha then allegedly called upon a friend of hers, Zakary Carter, to help carry out the rest of her plan. Together, they dropped the newborn off inside of a cave, according to cops. Carter then allegedly returned to the cave and set the baby's body on fire in order to destroy the evidence.
This poor child's body was found by a pair of biology students from the University of Central Missouri, who had been hiking in the woods.
Latasha has been charged with second-degree murder and Carter faces charges of tampering with physical evidence. That seems like a light charge to me considering it is believed he lit an innocent baby's body on fire.
I will never understand how anyone could look at the face of a baby or child and want to do anything other than hug, feed, and nurture him. But let's assume Latasha was scared out of her mind at the thought of being a mom. Let's assume she didn't know what to do next and there was no one in her life to help her. I still can't comprehend why she would kill her baby after carrying him for almost 10 months.
She felt him kick inside of her and nourished him for almost a year. Even if she didn't feel ready or willing to commit to being his mother, why wouldn't she just put him up for adoption so that one of the millions of women who would sacrifice everything to raise a child could experience that joy?
This was a sad ending to a situation that could have had a very different, and even positive, outcome.
Why do you think this mom would commit these acts against her baby? What's a fair punishment for her and Carter?
Image via police