A Mississippi mother, Kambira Darby, has been taken into custody after officials found her 2-year-old son wearing only a diaper at a local Walmart while the weather outside was below freezing. The temperature on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, was 20 degrees Fahrenheit, with colder wind chills.
The Byram Police Department arrested the woman at around 10:30 am. The arrest came after an employee, Felicia Darling, recorded a video of the mother hauling the unclothed child in a grocery cart while the toddler was visibly cold and shivering.
Several shoppers confronted Darby as she made her way through the store. However, Darby was aggressive in tone, vulgar, and dismissive of the concerns about her son’s lack of attire. After the altercation, she took off her coat and wrapped it around the child.
“He’s just an innocent soul. He didn’t ask to be there, so I took action and started recording her,” Darling said. “Minutes into the video, she threw cold food at the baby, and he was sad; he just looked down.” The Walmart employee added, “It seemed like, in his eyes, he was just asking for help. He was crying out for help.”
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Sympathetic shoppers bought clothes and dressed the toddler while the mother stood nearby scrolling through her phone. “You’re a mother; a child represents you,” Darling told WLBT. “If you come in the store fully clothed and your son is not, that shows a lot about your character.”
“It shows that you don’t care how you could come into Walmart fully dressed knowing it’s a lot of people watching you. She probably thought nobody was going to step up, but you know, we did.” Darling continued.
The video captured a police officer walking behind the 26-year-old mother as she left the store. Also, officials reported that the child was still shaking from the cold despite being clothed by shoppers.
The officials then arrested the mother and placed the child in a warm police car. First responders evaluated the 2-year-old, and Child Protection Services later released him to an approved relative. Afterward, authorities booked Darby into Hinds County Detention Center.
However, they released her from jail on bond conditions afterward. Then, Darby took to social media to defend how she parents her children. “I have pics of every meal I’ve cooked them,” she said in a Facebook post. “This defamation of character is hurting my heart.”
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Furthermore, Darby compared her treatment inside the Walmart store to Jesus. “They did Jesus the same way; he felt sick to his stomach as well,” she said. “He didn’t want to go through it.” Darby’s great aunt, Marie Pickens, 69, lives in Jackson with Dambira and many of her relatives.
After the issue became public, she condemned the arrest and supported Darby. Pickens said she had never seen evidence of Darby being a lousy mother. In addition, she stated in an interview, “Everything I’ve seen with her and the kids has been positive.”
Pickens said Darby usually “acted very appropriately, and so did the kids.” Pickens further stated, “I’m not saying there are no underlying mental health issues. But you need to find out her story.” “What she did showed poor judgment, certainly, and it is very unfortunate,” she said. “One incident like this can ruin a life.”
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