Tiffany Nicole Klapheke, 21 says that she was depressed from her husbands deployment to Afghanistan and could not care for her three children properly.
Her 22-month-old Toddler was so poorly taken care of that she died from what appears to be malnutrition. The woman’s other two daughters were also discovered to be in bad shape as a result of the mothers lack of proper care.
The police report shows that the toddler weighed only 17.5 pounds and her body had chemical burns, indicating the child was exposed to human waste.
In an interview from jail, Klapheke told Abilene’s KTAB-TV “I’m so just stressed out and depressed, and I just need help taking care of them, and I don’t have any help.” she later went on to say that she grew frustrated with her child’s lack of ability to be potty trained. “I just got tired of always changing the sheets, so it was on there a little bit longer than it should have been,” after admitting to leaving her daughter in her crib for almost a week.
Klapheke, is currently in Taylor County Jail in Abilene with bonds totaling $500,000.The state is working on arrangements for the proper care of her other two children.
