Missouri Mom Tries To Pass Off Fatal Child Abuse As Spider Bite

A Missouri mother faces child endangerment charges in the death of her baby daughter.

Police told Fox St. Louis that Taylor Lynn Fast, 21, called 911 on Sunday morning and reported that her 17-month-old girl, Layla, had been bitten by a spider and was unconscious.

But when cops showed up at her apartment complex in Festus, they immediately realized that no spider was responsible for the girl's injuries.

Festus Police Chief Tim Lewis told Fox St. Louis the baby looked like she'd been "involved in a car accident."

"I’ve been a policeman for 32 years and this is the worst case of child abuse I have ever seen," Lewis said.

He said the baby had severe injuries to her face and neck, along with bruising over most of her body. Paramedics rushed to treat the child, but she was dead by the time they arrived, according to KFOR.

Taylor Lynn Fast, 21, was arrested after police found her child dead. Fast said the little girl had been bitten by a spider.

"Any person would’ve walked in, would’ve looked at the child, would’ve immediately recognized, without any medical treatment, that that child was not alive," Lewis told KMOX. "And to tell everybody ... that it was a spider that bit the child? Yeah, that’s a little bit hard to believe."

A 3-year-old boy was also taken from the apartment with a broken leg, according to police. Fox St. Louis reported that he is Layla's older brother.

Police charged Fast with child endangerment, but said more serious counts could follow after autopsy results come in. Officials named Fast's boyfriend a person of interest in the case, and are searching for his whereabouts. They say his side of the story could help shed light on what happened to baby Layla.

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