BREAKING: Charges upgraded against mother of dead boy, recovered toddler

Charges have been upgraded against a 25-year-old Lake Charles mother whose 1-year-old son was discovered along an interstate highway Tuesday morning. The body of her 4-year-old son was discovered Monday afternoon in the waters behind the Vinton Welcome Center near the Texas-Louisiana border.

Aaliyah Jack — who originally was charged with failure to report a missing child — now faces one count of second-degree murder, one count cruelty to a juvenile and two counts of failure to report a missing child.

Judge Tony Fazzio has set her bond at $9.1 million. She remains behind bars in Meridian, Miss., where officers discovered her awaiting a train Monday night.

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Stitch Guillory said deputies within the office’s Marine Division recovered the 4-year-old’s body late Monday evening. In the process of identifying the boy, family members called his office to report Jack — who had last been seen with her two children — missing.

Guillory said detectives issued a BOLO (Be on the Lookout) to other law enforcement agencies, and later issued a warrant for Jack’s arrest, signed by Fazzio. Guillory said he was hopeful Jack would be found with the 1-year-old.

When she was located by the Meridian Police Department without the boy, Guillory said his Marine Division prepared with heavy hearts to head back out to the welcome center in search of the 1-year-old’s body. As they loaded their gear, Guillory said 911 received a call that the boy had been discovered crawling in a ditch on Interstate 10, nearly eight miles away from the center.

Guillory called the toddler “our miracle baby.”

Calcasieu Parish District Attorney Stephen Dwight said it’s these types of cases that “tug on your heart.” “

“We had the storm (remnants of Hurricane Beryl) come through and that baby had to crawl, not knowing where he was for two days,” Dwight said. “It truly is a miracle. When that call came in, we all took a deep breath and a sigh of relief because that is not what we were expecting at all.”

Guillory said anyone with information related to the case is asked to call lead Det. Willie Fontenot at 491-3605.

“Although we have upgraded charges on Jack, our detectives still have a lot of work to do,” Guillory said. “The investigation will continue while we wait for the autopsy results of the victim.”