A detective testified that six children were left for hours in an unsanitary Douglasville home.
DOUGLAS COUNTY, GA — A Douglas County judge denied bond to a 37-year-old mother after a detective testified that her six children were left alone for hours before her 1-year-old son was found unresponsive in March.
Sherry Magby faces five counts of second-degree child cruelty after a grand jury indictment tied to the death of Jacob Slaton, investigators said in court. The case moved forward this week during a bond hearing that added new details about the home, the children’s condition and the hours before police were called.
Douglasville Detective Andre Futch testified that he was called to Magby’s home shortly after midnight in March after a 911 caller reported an unresponsive child. “In reference to a deceased child. Unresponsive child,” Futch said from the witness stand. He said Jacob’s 10-year-old brother told investigators the toddler had been sick and that he gave Jacob NyQuil in a milk bottle. Futch also testified that a 6-year-old sibling later described a lack of food in the home. “He stated that he observed Jacob eating roaches and ants,” the detective said.
Futch testified that Magby left the home around 11 a.m. the day before police arrived. He said Magby told investigators she had to work and had returned home several times to check on the children. But Futch said he later spoke with her boss and learned she left work around 6 p.m. “It was found out she never returned back to the residence,” he said. According to the testimony, investigators believe Magby was at a hotel with her boyfriend while the children were still at home. Authorities have not publicly released a full medical finding on Jacob’s cause and manner of death.
The hearing focused on the condition of the home and the risk prosecutors said Magby posed if released. Futch testified that the children lived in what he called horrible conditions and that the home had no nutritious food. Neighbors told investigators the children were often left alone, according to testimony described in court. The children’s ages were not all detailed during the public hearing, but investigators said six children were in the home. The case has not yet produced public findings on whether any adult besides Magby had a legal duty to supervise the children that day.
Magby’s attorney, Mac Pilgrim, asked the court to grant bond and said the case was shaped by poverty and the pressures facing a working single mother. “We’re here because my client is poor,” Pilgrim said. He told the court Magby had strong ties to the area, had lived there for a long time and was employed. Pilgrim also noted that Magby was raising six children. Prosecutors argued that the allegations were serious and that the children would remain at risk if she were released.
Douglas County Superior Court Judge Cynthia C. Adams denied bond in the child cruelty case and also revoked Magby’s bond in an earlier case. In that 2023 case, Magby is accused of attacking her teenage son by hitting him in the back with a pocketknife as he ran away from her. She is expected to face trial later this year in that case. Adams said from the bench that she found “a serious likelihood” Magby would reoffend if granted bond. The judge also ordered Magby to have no direct or indirect contact with any of her children.
The indictment marks a new stage in the March death investigation, but several key questions remain unresolved in public records and court testimony. Investigators have not announced whether more charges could be filed. They also have not released a full timeline of every adult who may have been in contact with the children before the 911 call. The surviving children’s placements have not been publicly detailed. Magby remains in custody as the child cruelty case proceeds in Douglas County court.
Author note: Last updated June 12, 2026.