A tragic incident in Georgia has left a 1-year-old dead and a 37-year-old woman in custody after allegedly abandoning the child and five other minors for 12 hours without food, according to police reports.

Sherry Diane Magby has been charged with six counts of child cruelty. Law enforcement documents reveal that officers from the Douglasville Police Department were called to a residence on James D. Simpson Avenue on March 28. They discovered six children, ranging in age from 1 to 10, with the eldest child left to care for the others.

Officers reported encountering an overpowering stench indicative of unsanitary conditions upon entering the home. They described the property as being in extreme disarray, with disorder evident in every room.

The 10-year-old informed officers that food was scarce. The affidavit noted that the youngest child was seen consuming insects such as roaches and ants in a desperate attempt to find nourishment. It is alleged that Magby left the children unsupervised for approximately 12 hours. The nature of her relationship with the children has not been specified in the warrants.

The Douglas County Coroner’s Office confirmed to the Douglas County Sentinel that the 1-year-old had passed away, although the cause and manner of death remain undisclosed. Currently held at the Douglas County Jail without bail, Magby may face additional charges.

Local residents expressed shock and disbelief upon learning about the situation, unaware that the children were suffering from hunger.

“It breaks my heart because if I knew that they [weren’t] getting food I would have fed them,” the neighbor told local ABC affiliate WSB.

Ken Howell, who runs a community outreach center nearby, echoed the neighbor’s comments.

“All they had to do was come down here,” he told the outlet. “We could have helped them get food.”

This is not the first time Magby has been accused of abusing her children. In 2023, she allegedly stabbed a child in the back with a pocket knife as the boy was running away. She was arrested on aggravated assault and cruelty to children. She was released on bond and is set to go on trial next month.