Nevada Woman Charged With Murder After Reportedly Locking 5-Year-Old in Room With No Air-Conditioning

Kemaya Taylor of Nevada, Las Vegas is facing a murder charge and two counts of child abuse or neglect after she reportedly locked her two children inside a hot bedroom.

KLAS-TVreports that the 23-year-old mother allegedly locked her children, ages 5 and 2, inside a bedroom that did not have air-conditioning. Police were called to the scene of the Missouri Meadows Street house at around 7:02 p.m. local time on Monday. Officers arrived at the scene to discover two children locked inside the room. Devastatingly, the 5-year-old had died. The 2-year-old survived and was turned over to Child Protective Services.

Taylor was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on Tuesday. She was scheduled to appear in court for a hearing on Thursday, but was reportedly a no-show. Her preliminary hearing is now scheduled for July 15. On the day the child was found deceased in the home, the Weather Channel reported a high in Las Vegas of 107 degrees Fahrenheit.

“She was in a mess,” said Kemaya Taylor’s landlord in a conversation with the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Her hair was all a mess, the whole house was a mess, and she was packing. That’s when I said, ‘You know, I think it is not good you are all by yourself with two kids. You should get in touch with your family,’ and she said, ‘I have no one.’” Neighbors claim that she was acting “erratically” prior to the arrival of police at the scene.