Kids Beat Three-Year-Old Girl to Death While their Mothers Were at the Casino

Two Louisiana children were charged with murder for beating a three-year-old girl to death while their moms were gambling at a casino. 

The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office responded to a call from one of the children around 3:45 p.m. on February 12 that the victim, Blessing Buckles, was unconscious. They arrived to find eight children, ranging from 11 months to 12 years old, were home with no adult supervision.

Dineshia Yates, the mother of the deceased three-year-old, and Terica Scott arrived at the household shortly after the police. The attackers were identified as Scott’s son (10) and nephew (12).

On the 911 call that alerted the authorities, one of the children said the girl was not breathing, there were no adults home, and they did not know the address of their house. 

Policy arrived in the 3300 block of O’Neal Lane and went door-to-door attempting to locate the house when Scott and Yates arrived, at which time they informed them they had been at a casino.

The victim was initially resuscitated by paramedics and taken to a hospital, where she remained under their care for two days. She was pronounced dead on Wednesday, February 14, as a result of a brain bleed likely caused by blunt force trauma, police said. She also had bruises and abrasions lining her face.

Scott and Yates said they were gone from the house for several hours during their trip to the casino. The former also said that she was aware of her nephew’s violent tendencies toward other children, and the latter said she noticed bruises on one of her daughters during a previous time she was left alone with the boy. 

Tragically, Yates “ignored her children’s pleas for help,” an arrest record said.

The adults were charged with principal to simple battery and principal to second-degree murder, and the children with one count of battery and second-degree murder. In Louisiana, the crime of second-degree murder carries the punishment of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Both women admitted during police interviews that they regularly left the children alone during the two weeks that Yates and her children had lived with Scott.

“A case like this is devastating,” East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said in a statement. “My heart breaks for this child lost too soon, and I pray for the others involved. Please call law enforcement immediately if you are ever aware of abuse, neglect or desertion of children.”

In more Louisiana casino news, two suspects were arrested last week after they robbed two people at the Outpost Travel Center, which has a small casino, restaurant, and store, in Plain Dealing.

The two criminals brandished firearms and ordered one worker and one visitor to turn over their cash last Friday morning, according to TV station KSLA.

They took the cash and fled on foot, at which time the Plain Dealing Police Department was notified and opened an investigation in conjunction with the Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office (BSO).

Using canines and drones, the police began a search for the two suspects. Dogs were able to track their scent to a residence in the 300 block of Gloria Street, and after a search warrant was granted, BSO deputies found and detained four suspects.

Police also found a 12-gauge shotgun and clothing allegedly worn by the criminals during the hold-up.

Two of the four, Cedrick Dobbin, 35, and Eward Dobbin, 21, were charged with armed robbery. They were thrown in the Bossier Parish Maximum Facility Jail and held with a $750,000 bail.

The case investigation is still open.