DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. (Court TV) — A Georgia mother is behind bars after investigators say she left her six children alone for hours, leaving some to eat bugs.
Sherry Magby booking photo. (Douglas County Jail)
Sherry Magby, 37, is facing charges of cruelty to children and aggravated assault after the children were found in unsanitary living conditions, investigators said.
In documents reviewed by Court TV, officers said they were called to the Douglasville home, where they found the children, ages 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8, left in the supervision of a 10-year-old. “Upon entering the residence, officers immediately detected a strong, foul odor consistent with unsanitary living conditions,” officers said. “The residence was further observed to be in a state of significant disorder, with every room in disarray, further evidencing unsuitable living conditions.”
The 10-year-old told officers that he had been left to supervise his five siblings for approximately 12 hours, but had not been left with any food. The child further said that because there was no food, he had seen the 1-year-old “consuming roaches and ants due to the lack of proper nourishment.”
The 1-year-old child later died, the Douglas County Sentinel reported, citing the coroner’s office. Court TV left a message for the coroner, but received no response.
Magby has been in trouble before and is set to stand trial in a separate case next month. In that case, Magby was indicted on a charge of aggravated assault after allegedly attacking someone with a knife. In that case, she’s accused of stabbing the victim with a pocket knife while he was trying to run away from her on July 17, 2023.
No court date has been set for Magby’s latest charges; she is being held without bond in the Douglas County Jail.
