Mother arrested in Mississippi after reportedly killing one son, abandoning another along interstate tells reporter she was on drugs when committing crimes

A mother who was arrested at a Mississippi train station after she reportedly killed one child and left another on the side of the Louisiana interstate was caught on camera telling a television reporter that she was on drugs when she committed the crimes.

Aaliyah Jack, a 25-year-old mother from Lake Charles, Louisiana, was returned from Mississippi and booked into Calcasieu Correctional Center in Lake Charles on Saturday.

As she was being brought to the correctional center, Jack spoke with a reporter from KPLC News, admitting that she killed her son and abandoned the child while on drugs.

Click on this link to the video of the exchange between the reporter and Jack.

Jack is facing upgraded charges after the tragic death of her 4-year-old son and the miraculous survival of her 1-year-old. The series of events, which spanned from the Texas-Louisiana border to Mississippi, has left communities in shock and law enforcement working tirelessly to piece together the details.

Jack was initially charged with failure to report a missing child, but those charges have now been upgraded to one count of second-degree murder, one count of cruelty to a juvenile, and two counts of failure to report a missing child.

The charges stem from the discovery of her 4-year-old son’s body in the waters behind the Vinton Welcome Center and the subsequent discovery of her 1-year-old son crawling along Interstate 10 the next morning.

Judge Tony Fazzio has set Jack’s bond at $9.1 million. She remains in custody in Meridian, Mississippi, where she was found awaiting a train on Monday night. Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Stitch Guillory detailed the intense efforts of his Marine Division in recovering the body of the 4-year-old and the subsequent, hopeful search for the 1-year-old.

“Our deputies worked with heavy hearts, hoping to find the 1-year-old safe,” Guillory said. “The discovery of the baby crawling in a ditch was nothing short of a miracle.”

The ordeal began when deputies from the Marine Division found the 4-year-old’s body on the evening of July 8. In the process of identifying the boy, family members reported Jack and her two children missing. A BOLO (Be on the Lookout) alert was issued to other law enforcement agencies, leading to the discovery of Jack by the Meridian Police Department without her younger child.

Upon finding Jack alone, officers prepared to resume the search for the 1-year-old at the Vinton Welcome Center. However, the child was unexpectedly found nearly eight miles away from the center, along Interstate 10. Guillory expressed immense relief at the boy’s survival, calling him “our miracle baby.”

Calcasieu Parish District Attorney Stephen Dwight highlighted the emotional toll of the case. “Cases like this tug on your heart,” Dwight said. “We had the storm remnants of Hurricane Beryl, and that baby had to crawl, not knowing where he was for two days. It truly is a miracle.”

Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the tragic events. Sheriff Guillory has urged anyone with information to contact lead Detective Willie Fontenot at 491-3605. “Although we have upgraded charges on Jack, our detectives still have a lot of work to do,” he said. “The investigation will continue while we await the autopsy results of the victim.”