Mother Found with Decomposing 10-Month-Old in Empty Apartment Gives Unsettling Explanations

Police were called to the apartment of a 28-year-old mother after a report it "smelled as if someone was dead inside" -- but when questioned about what they found, her answers kept shifting and getting stranger.

Warning: This story contains disturbing details of an infant death.

A mother in Wisconsin is now awaiting the results of a mental health evaluation after she was charged with hiding the corpse of a child inside her apartment. From first contact to interviews with detectives, her unsettling responses grew stranger and stranger, with no clear answers about any of it.

Police were called to the apartment building after receiving a report from another resident that the suspect's apartment "smelled as if someone was dead inside." The responding officers made contact with Shyanna Brothers, 28, at the door of her apartment and confirmed there was a foul smell emanating from within.

"Initially, the defendant claimed that there was old food inside her apartment," the officers wrote in a criminal complaint, received by Law&Crime.

When she was informed that her neighbors had told police she was going around and telling people that her baby was gone, Brothers replied, "Yeah people lose kids. I lost a child." She then claimed she was telling people that because she "was going through a lot."

She then told the officers "that 'he' was in on it and she could not tell what 'he' did, but [she] knew that one day 'I'll get caught for what he did to our kid.'" She explained that "he" was the child's father, claiming that he had killed their daughter weeks ago.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Brothers said that her baby died inside the apartment and that the baby's father threatened her that if anyone found out about it, they would both go to prison. "The defendant said 'the skull' and then made a throwing motion as if someone threw a baby," officers wrote, adding that she told them, "He hurt her and makes people hurt her."

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Inside Brothers' Apartment

When the officers asked if they could search her apartment for her daughter, according to the affidavit, Brothers said that they could, telling them that "he has me hiding her in there." At that, she pointed to a locked bedroom door, per the complaint. Officers detected a "strong odor of decomposition coming from inside the locked room," per the report.

One of the officers forced his way into the bedroom and observed the room was empty "except for a large cardboard box in the center of the floor." The complaint also notes "the floor was covered with hundreds of dead flies." Inside the box, the officer found the body of a deceased infant "in an advanced state of decomposition."

After the discovery, the responding officers made contact with City of Milwaukee Police Detective Arttavius Bradford, who described the scene. A three-bedroom apartment, Bradford wrote that it had no furniture in it, save for an air mattress and television in one room.

The body in the cardboard box was described as "beyond recognition," with the detective further noting in the court document that "there were maggots on the body," and that "bodily fluids from [the baby's] body were soaking the bottom of the cardboard box."

Medical records for the deceased showed her having been born on October 8, 2024. Her last wellness check was April 21, 2025, where she weighed 19 pounds, 12.1 ounces and was reported in good health. An autopsy of the infant's remains revealed a left frontal-parietal skull fracture consistent with blunt force trauma to the head.

Despite Brothers' story about an abusive relationship with the father, Bradford was not able to find any male clothing or documentation for any other occupant of the apartment.

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1st Police Interview

In a custodial interview on August 3, while receiving her Miranda warning, the defendant said she didn't understand the portion about a lawyer being appointed to represent her if she could not afford one. But when asked if she wanted it repeated, she said she did not. The detective then asked her how she was feeling, per the court filings, to which Brothers replied, "I was told I wasn't in trouble," and "I had no control over how she died."

"I was told I was going somewhere for safety, now it seems like I'm going away for something I didn't do," she continued, at which point Police Detective Kent Gordon told her he was not able to talk any specifics about the case with her until he finished going over the Miranda warnings with her.

She then replied, "I was raped in there and forced to hurt my kid and hide the body," adding, "They are in and out of my apartment raping me and stealing from me."

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The affidavit states that Gordon told her he wasn't comfortable talking to her "unless you are in an okay place," and not until they got through the Miranda warnings. She denied ever having been diagnosed with any mental health illnesses and asked him to finish reading her the Miranda rights.

At this point, per the affidavit, Brothers "then made comments as if [she] was talking to some one else." She is documented saying, "He and Amy messed up" and, "He's going to prison for this, he thinks he is a genius. It may look like it's me, but I'm going to get exonerated."

When the detective tried to tell Brothers that she had not been charged in the murder of her daughter, she replied, "They control me and they make me hurt her." After this -- about 18 minutes into the interview, per the detective -- he stopped and decided to try again after she got some sleep.

2nd Police Interview

On August 14, Detective Bradford and Detective Tyler Pileggi tried again to conduct a custodial interview with Brothers. The criminal complaint details erratic behavior right from the start when she was asked to spell her first name.

Midway, she said, "Stop, seriously dude." When asked what her middle name was, she answered, and then, per the report, "grabbed her face as if to cover her mouth and said, 'What are you doing right now, dude?'" She then appeared to answer her own question, responding, "Helping you to get your f--king way, keep going."

Brothers then asked if she could go back upstairs, telling the detectives, "I've already been told I wasn’t getting charged for this and something is happening and she went way too far." The affidavit reports she then said "she is helping me" and again covered her mouth "as if to keep [herself] from saying anything more."

The detectives next asked her her date of birth. To this she replied, "I just need to go back upstairs," followed by, "She just needs to go back upstairs." Then, according to the complaint, Brothers began to cry and yelled, "We went too far, Shyanna. We went entirely too far, Shyanna ... I tried to help you out."

According to the police detectives, the defendant then began having a conversation with someone named "David," telling him, "You know I didn't kill her," and, "If you’re still trying to put me away for it, you are literally helping me look insane."

She then said, "They already know I didn’t kill her David. They already know," before repeating, "you’re helping me plead insane, David." The document states that she again covered her mouth before yelling out, "Oh god, we f--ked up today," before making "repeated barking noises."

At this point, per the complaint. Brothers spoke directly to Det. Pileggi, saying, "She's not even comprehending, they already know, you guys already know I did not kill my child. What I'm saying and what you are doing is helping me plead insane you dumb b---h."

After this, Brothers reportedly began yelling again, this time saying, "My name is Ashley, I'm the greatest girl in the world." This was followed by, "My name is Brendan. I killed your kid because my name is Brendan." Finally, she said, "My name is Ashley, I tried to steal her face," before telling the detectives, "You might as well send me the f--k back upstairs."

The complaint states that the detectives "readily agreed" and escorted her out of the interview room.

The defendant is being held on a $50,000 bond awaiting the results of her mental health evaluation before authorities determine the next step.