A mother’s chilling text before her four-year-old son was found dead in a lake has been revealed as she awaits legal proceedings depending on the results of his autopsy.
Aaliyah Jack was arrested for multiple charges including failure to report a missing child after her son Legend’s body was found in a lake behind Interstate 10 near the Mississippi–Texas border on Monday.
Her mother Conswella Jack was looking after Legend and his one-year-old brother Kingtrail, when Aaliyah unexpectedly showed up and fled with both of them while Conswella was at her own mother’s funeral.
Kingtrail has been called a “miracle” after he somehow survived the ordeal and was found crawling along the motorway after spending two days outside alone during Hurricane Beryl.
After the children were both found, police arrested their mother over 350 miles away in Meridian, Mississippi.
Conswella told the Acadiana Advocate that her daughter had been struggling financially and, despite still having legal guardianship, put the children in her care.
She also revealed the haunting last text message she received from Aaliyah. She revealed: “The next day, which was Sunday, after trying to call her, she finally reaches out to me, but it’s a text.
“She sent me a picture of a car in some bushes that kind of looked like it was wrecked. I was confused, so I called, called and called, and could not reach her.”
Kingtrail was eventually found by a lorry driver who was shocked to discover he was unharmed except for some bug bites.
Calcasieu Sheriff Gary “Stitch” Guillory told reporters: “We look at this one-year-old as our miracle baby because he was still alive. This kid spent two days out in the weather on the side of the highway. Thank God that trucker seen him.”
Upon learning the fate of her two grandchildren, Conswella said: “I was so blessed to hear the baby survived but also so hurt because one is now gone.
“I just buried my mother, and now my grandson? And he’s only 4 years old. Legend was so sweet and just lovable. Now I have to fight for my grandson.
“It’s stressful because they’re gonna put me through all what I’m about to go through just to get him back. I don’t even have the funds for it, so I have to do everything I can to get that baby back, because ain’t nobody know him like we know him.”
Hurricane Beryl has been battering the eastern part of Texas with haveay rain and high-speed winds, and the two boys were left outside alone in these conditions.
Aaliyah, who had given her children to Conswella to look after as part on an informal arrangement while she got back on her feet, has no criminla history but is now awaiting legal proceedings.