9/21/2021- 2:32 p.m.
CARVILLE – A toddler died almost two months after being taken in by two foster parents.
The St. Gabriel Police Department said Teresita and Ruben Morgan began to foster two toddler-age twin girls at the end of July.
The Morgans were the only ones caring for the child for the two weeks before the incident.Â
Deputies said the foster parents brought one of the children, Royalty Sonnier, to Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge with head trauma Sept. 12. The child was pronounced brain dead one week later.
According to arrest documents, the couple gave “multiple inconsistent stories” when explaining what happened to the toddler.
The mother later admitted the child fell at least four times the day she was brought to the hospital.
The parents described one incident where the 1-year-old had fallen out of a nearly two-and-a-half-foot stool inside an AT&T store.
Deputies reviewed surveillance video from the store but said the child landed on her bottom and did not appear to be “crying or bothered.” Ruben Morgan was then seen placing her back on the stool after the fall.
Later that same day, the parents said Royalty hit her head as she was placed in the bath tub. After that, she went limp and hit her head again on the back of the tub.
Teresita Morgan told investigators she believed the child was having a seizure and admitted to repeatedly shaking, slapping and hitting her in an attempt to “revive her.”
Arrest records said the foster mother also described “slamming” the child onto the kitchen counter and trying to administer CPR, after which the child reportedly vomited.
The documents go on to say the woman continued to slap and shake the baby on the entire ride to the hospital.
While speaking with officers, she also admitted to another incident were Royalty fell off the couch that same day, which she had not previously mention to investigators or medical staff.Â
