Court records describe a year without pediatric visits, a worsening decline and two sisters found dangerously underweight in a St. Louis apartment.
ST. LOUIS, Missouri — More than a year passed without a pediatric visit for two young sisters before an emergency call brought police to their St. Louis home, where officers found one child without a pulse and the other showing severe signs of malnutrition, investigators alleged in court records.
The younger girl, who was 20 months old, died after paramedics transported her to St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Her 3-year-old sister was admitted for treatment. Police said the younger child weighed 10 pounds and the older one about 17 pounds. Prosecutors charged their mother and sole caregiver, 29-year-old Sausha Mia Myers, with two counts of child abuse or neglect involving serious physical injury.
The allegations place the absence of medical care at the center of the timeline. Myers allegedly told detectives that neither daughter had seen a doctor in more than a year, even though she knew they were not reaching normal developmental milestones. According to accounts of the probable cause statement, the older girl previously had been treated in Texas because of concerns about her low weight. A doctor had provided information about proper nutrition, police said. Investigators further alleged that the children did not have diagnosed health conditions that would explain an inability to gain weight. That claim may become an important point in the prosecution because it supports the police theory that the girls’ condition resulted from inadequate food and care rather than an unavoidable illness. The public reports did not identify the medical records reviewed by detectives or say whether independent specialists had examined the children’s earlier health history.
The immediate crisis unfolded after Myers contacted emergency dispatchers and said her younger daughter was not responding and appeared to be breathing slowly. Officers who arrived at the apartment on St. Ferdinand Avenue found the girl on the living room floor. She showed no pulse or signs of life, according to the probable cause statement. The surviving child was also in the residence and appeared severely emaciated.
Paramedics took both children to the hospital, but doctors could not save the younger girl. The initial reports did not provide a final autopsy conclusion. Police said the medical examination would determine the official cause of death and could affect whether prosecutors pursue additional charges. Until that process is complete, descriptions of the death as starvation or fatal malnutrition remain allegations based on the condition in which the child was found and the preliminary investigation.
Authorities said Myers had noticed that the younger child’s condition was becoming worse during the two weeks before the emergency response. She allegedly did not arrange a medical examination or take the child to an emergency department during that period. The reports did not provide Myers’ explanation for that decision. They also did not say whether she had access to transportation, health insurance or other assistance, and investigators did not identify any such issue as a cause of the alleged neglect.
The child’s daily diet was another part of the police timeline. Myers told investigators that she gave the girl yogurt and commercially prepared vegetable and fruit pouches, according to the probable cause statement. Detectives estimated that the foods supplied fewer than 250 calories each day. Public versions of the allegations did not specify the number, size or brand of the pouches, nor did they include a day-by-day food log. That distinction matters because the estimate is evidence attributed to investigators, not an independently published dietary record. Even so, police cited it as part of their conclusion that the child did not receive adequate nutrition. The younger girl’s 10-pound weight, the condition of her body and the state of her older sister were also included in the probable cause case presented to support Myers’ arrest.
Investigators said the younger girl had pressure wounds or bedsores on her head and back. Those injuries were reported without graphic detail, and authorities did not say how long they had been present. The surviving child had scars on her torso, but the source and age of those marks were not identified in the early reports. No separate assault charge connected to the scars had been publicly confirmed.
The older girl also had lanugo, a fine layer of hair that may develop when a body lacks enough fat to stay warm. Medical sources describe it as one possible sign of serious malnutrition, though its presence alone does not establish the cause of a person’s condition. In this case, police included it with the child’s low weight and overall appearance as evidence of a prolonged nutritional problem.
The court documents do not describe a household suddenly struck by an unexplained emergency. Instead, the allegations outline an extended decline that authorities say should have led to earlier medical intervention. Prosecutors will still have to prove what Myers knew, what care she provided, how long the dangerous conditions existed and whether her conduct met every element of the charged offenses.
The probable cause standard used at the beginning of a criminal case is lower than the proof required for a conviction. At this stage, a judge considers whether the allegations and supporting evidence provide a reasonable basis to continue the prosecution. Myers has the right to challenge the state’s evidence, present a defense, seek release under conditions set by the court and require prosecutors to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. Early coverage said Myers was arrested at the hospital or shortly after the children were taken there. A judge initially ordered her held without bond pending a hearing, according to local reports. The sources reviewed for this article did not provide a verified update on the outcome of that hearing, the entry of a plea or the scheduling of a preliminary hearing or trial.
The case also leaves unanswered how the children became isolated from regular medical observation. Routine pediatric visits often create records of weight, growth and development, but police alleged that no such visit occurred for more than a year. The public court accounts did not say whether either child attended day care, received developmental services or had recent contact with adults outside the home.
Those unknowns are likely to remain separate from the narrow question before the criminal court: whether Myers committed the charged acts of abuse or neglect. Confidential child-welfare records, if any exist, are generally not released simply because a related criminal prosecution has begun. Authorities had not confirmed whether the family was involved with a child-protection agency before officers entered the home.
The surviving girl’s medical treatment offered investigators a second source of evidence about the home conditions. Doctors could document her weight, nutritional status, injuries and response to treatment. Those findings may help prosecutors estimate how long she had been deprived of adequate care, but no full medical report had been publicly released. Her current health and future placement also remained private. The younger child’s autopsy represents the next major medical step. A final report could determine whether malnutrition alone caused her death or whether other factors contributed. It could also clarify the timing of her decline and whether the reported pressure injuries had any role. Officials had not announced when that report would be completed.
No conviction or final medical determination had been reported. Myers is currently accused of two felony counts, one concerning each child. The criminal case was continuing while the surviving sister received protection and care outside the home described in the probable cause statement.
Author note: Last updated July 17, 2026.