Inset: Shyanna Brothers (Milwaukee County). Background: The building where Shyanna Brothers allegedly lived and concealed her daughter’s body in Milwaukee, Wis. (Google Maps).
A Wisconsin woman was reportedly living with her deceased 10-month-old daughter, whose body was decomposing inside a cardboard box within her residence, claiming to police “I had no control over how she died” — stating she was “forced to hurt my kid and hide the body,” according to court documents.
Shyanna Brothers, 28, faces charges for concealing a child’s corpse following the unsettling discovery by officers last week in her Milwaukee apartment, per her criminal complaint, obtained by Law&Crime on Monday. Authorities responded to the location after someone reported a smell outside that “smelled as if someone was dead inside,” the complaint states.
“Initially, the defendant claimed that old food was inside her apartment,” officers reported. “Officer Wright informed the defendant that she was overheard saying her baby was gone. The defendant replied, ‘Yeah people lose kids. I lost a child.’ She explained saying ‘the baby is gone’ because she was dealing with a lot.”
Police requested to search the apartment, and Brothers reportedly agreed. Once inside, she started discussing how a man she was involved with in a “domestic violence relationship” killed the child and “has me hiding her in there” — indicating a locked bedroom door, according to the complaint.
“Officer Wright detected a strong odor of decomposition from within the locked room,” the complaint details. “Officer Wright forced the bedroom door open, finding the room empty except for a large cardboard box in the center. The floor was littered with hundreds of dead flies. Inside the cardboard box, Officer Wright personally observed a deceased infant child’s body in an advanced state of decomposition.”
An autopsy later revealed that the baby suffered a skull fracture consistent with blunt force trauma, per police. Brothers allegedly told officers at the scene that “he” — her alleged boyfriend — killed the child and then threatened to hurt her too if she called the authorities.
“The Defendant said ‘the skull’ and then made a throwing motion as if someone threw the baby,” the complaint says. Police, however, were allegedly unable to find any evidence of a male being present or living at the residence.
“There was no furniture inside the apartment,” the complaint notes. “Inside a bedroom located to the east of the kitchen there was an air mattress and a television. In the bedroom located north of the bathroom, there was a large cardboard box that contained the body.”
Police say the child was in an “advanced state of decomposition and was beyond recognition,” per the complaint. “Bodily fluids from [the child’s] body were soaking the bottom of the cardboard box,” the document says.
Brothers was taken into custody and questioned by detectives, with her alleged statements becoming stranger and stranger as the interview went on.
“I was told I wasn’t in trouble,” she allegedly claimed. “I had no control over how she died.”
Describing what happened, the complaint says Brothers claimed she was “raped in there and forced to hurt my kid and hide the body.” She alleged that people were going “in and out” of her apartment “raping me and stealing from me,” the complaint adds.
“He’s going to prison for this, he thinks he is a genius,” Brothers told detectives. “It may look like it’s me, but I’m going to get exonerated.”
Brothers covered her mouth repeatedly throughout her police interview “as if she was attempting to prevent any further talking,” according to the complaint.
“Oh God, we f—ed up today” she allegedly said at one point. “And then [Brothers] made repeated barking noises,” the complaint adds.
Brothers allegedly addressed the detectives directly, stating, “She’s not even comprehending, they already know, you guys already know I did not kill my child,” according to police. “What I’m saying and what you are doing is helping me plead insane you dumb b—,” she allegedly opined. “You might as well send me the f— back upstairs.”
Brothers was being held this week on a $50,000 bond and is awaiting the results of a mental health evaluation. The report is due next month.
