Police said the 20-month-old weighed 10 pounds, while her surviving 3-year-old sister was hospitalized in severely weakened condition.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri — A St. Louis mother faces two felony child-abuse and neglect counts after police found her two young daughters severely malnourished inside an apartment, including a 20-month-old girl who died after being taken to a hospital, according to court records and local news reports.

Sausha Mia Myers, 29, was identified in a probable cause statement as the children’s mother and sole caregiver. Investigators alleged that the younger child had been receiving fewer than 250 calories a day from a limited diet of yogurt and fruit and vegetable pouches. The girl weighed only 10 pounds when emergency responders reached the family’s home in the 4300 block of St. Ferdinand Avenue, authorities said. Her 3-year-old sister weighed about 17 pounds and also required hospital treatment.

The case began when Myers called for emergency assistance and reported that her younger daughter was unresponsive and breathing slowly, according to accounts based on the probable cause statement. Officers entered the residence and found the girl lying on the living room floor without a detectable pulse or other signs of life. The older child was also inside. Police described both children as visibly emaciated. Paramedics transported them to St. Louis Children’s Hospital, where the younger girl was pronounced dead a short time later.

Police have treated the death as a suspected result of prolonged malnutrition, but a final medical ruling was not included in the publicly available reports reviewed for this article. An autopsy was expected to determine the official cause and manner of death. Investigators said additional charges could depend on those findings. Myers had not been convicted, and the allegations against her remained subject to court proceedings.

The probable cause statement described several physical signs that investigators and medical personnel believed were consistent with serious neglect. The younger child had pressure injuries or bedsores on her head and back, according to the records. Such wounds can develop when a person remains in one position for extended periods, though the public reports did not establish precisely when or how the injuries formed. Authorities did not release the child’s name in the initial reporting.

The surviving 3-year-old was described as severely underweight and nonverbal. Court-record accounts said she had scars on her chest and stomach and had developed lanugo, a layer of fine body hair that can appear when a person has too little body fat to maintain warmth. The reports did not identify the cause of the scars or say whether investigators had linked them to any specific event. The girl remained under medical care after her sister’s death, although later details about her condition were not publicly confirmed.

During an interview with investigators, Myers allegedly said neither child had been examined by a pediatrician for more than a year. Police said she acknowledged knowing that the girls were not meeting expected developmental milestones. The older child had previously received medical care in Texas for low weight, and a doctor had discussed proper nutrition with Myers, according to the probable cause statement. Investigators said they had found no known medical condition that would have prevented either child from gaining weight. Those allegations are important to the criminal case because Missouri’s child-neglect laws focus in part on whether a caregiver knowingly failed to provide care that was reasonable and necessary for a child’s health. Prosecutors charged Myers with two counts tied to the condition of both children. The initial reports described the counts as abuse or neglect of a child resulting in serious physical injury. The precise wording and classification of the charges will be governed by the filed court case.

Authorities alleged that the younger child’s health had noticeably worsened during the two weeks before the emergency call. Myers told investigators she had observed the decline but did not seek medical care during that period, according to the probable cause statement. Police did not publicly explain why help was not requested sooner. No verified statement from Myers or a defense attorney addressing the accusations was available in the reports reviewed for this article.

The estimated daily intake of fewer than 250 calories became a central allegation in early coverage of the case. Detectives calculated that amount after reviewing the foods Myers said she had been giving the younger child, according to local reporting. The number represented an estimate based on the described diet rather than a complete publicly released nutritional record. Authorities nevertheless cited it as evidence that the child had not received enough food to maintain her health.

Police records described the emergency response as the point when the children’s condition first came to the immediate attention of officers. The public accounts did not establish whether relatives, neighbors, health workers or social-service agencies had seen the girls recently. They also did not say whether anyone had previously reported concerns about the household. Any history involving confidential child-welfare proceedings would generally not be available through ordinary criminal court records.

The allegations against Myers center on omissions rather than a single reported act. Investigators accused her of failing over time to provide adequate nutrition and medical attention. In such cases, prosecutors may rely on medical findings, statements from the accused, food records, photographs, hospital evaluations and testimony about the children’s development. The complete evidence in this case had not been presented in open court when the charges were first reported. Myers was taken into custody after the children were brought to the hospital. Early reports said a judge ordered her held without bond pending a hearing. Publicly accessible news coverage did not confirm the result of any later bond proceeding or identify a future trial date. Missouri court procedures allow defendants to challenge detention conditions and contest the evidence supporting the charges.

The death investigation and the criminal prosecution are related but separate. The medical examiner’s findings may address what caused the younger child’s death, while prosecutors must prove each element of the filed offenses beyond a reasonable doubt to obtain a conviction. A finding that malnutrition contributed to the death could lead authorities to review whether the existing charges should be amended, but no such change had been reliably confirmed.

The identity and long-term placement of the surviving child were not disclosed in the initial court reporting. Because she is a minor and an alleged victim, records concerning her medical care and any protective-custody proceeding are expected to remain largely confidential. Officials had not publicly stated when she might leave the hospital or who would care for her afterward.

The St. Louis Circuit Court case was continuing as authorities awaited further medical and investigative findings. Myers remained presumed innocent unless proved guilty, and no final ruling had been announced on the cause of her younger daughter’s death.

Author note: Last updated July 17, 2026.