Kambria Darby is facing a child neglect charge after concerned shoppers at a Walmart in Mississippi called police after seeing the boy wearing only a diaper. A Walmart employee posted video of the interaction on Facebook but it has since been taken down. User Clat88 posted a version of the video (left) to TikTok. (Mug shot via Byram Police Department)
A mother in Mississippi was arrested after she allegedly brought her 2-year-old son to a Walmart wearing only a diaper when the temperature was below freezing outside in an incident captured in a viral video.
Kambria Darby, 26, is facing a child neglect charge after concerned shoppers at a Walmart in Byram, a suburb of Jackson, called police on Jan. 17 after seeing the boy wearing the diaper. Employee Felicia Darling took video of Darby on her phone and posted it to Facebook but it has since been taken down. A version of the video on TikTok has garnered over 15 million views.
A shopper gave the boy something to put over his body, but the boy’s lips were still shivering as he sat in the cart. At one point, Darby throws a package from the frozen food aisle on the boys legs.
“You’re putting cold food on this child,” one man says. “What’s wrong with you?”
Darby starts arguing with the man calling her out, telling him to lower his voice.
“Somebody call the police on her,” Darling says during the video. “When you come in the store fully dressed and your baby’s not. Poor baby.”
Another shopper comes over and puts some more cloths on him as others called police. Cops came, arrested Darby on the child neglect charge and took her to the Hinds County Detention Center where she has since bonded out.
Local CBS affiliate WJTV reported Child Protective Services came and released the child to an approved relative. Temperatures that day was 20 degrees with colder wind chills, the TV station said.
Darby’s relatives came to her defense, saying she’s a good mother who made a mistake.
“Everything I’ve seen with her and the kids has been positive,” Darby’s great-aunt, Marie Darby Pickens, told The New York Post. “I don’t condone what was done and it was right to be reported but we don’t know both sides of the story. Sometimes kids can be difficult not wanting to put their clothes on, or taking them off and maybe she was in a rush to pick up some things.”
Darling claims Walmart fired her because of posting the video despite taking it down as requested. She started a GoFundMe page that has raised over $30,000.
“No I wasn’t thinking about the consequences at the time, At that time my main focus was on that innocent poor child, and to get him some help. Yes I posted the video on my facebook page bc I wanted to reach out to some of her family members, and case workers,” she wrote.
