Indiana Mother Charged with Murder After 2-Year-Old Daughter Freezes to Death in Filthy Apartment

Woman faces charges of murder and serious neglect following the tragic death of her daughter.

A heartbreaking case of neglect in Indianapolis, Indiana has escalated to murder charges after a 2-year-old girl was found frozen to death in a dangerously unheated and unsanitary home.

Chantell Gardner, 33, was initially charged with child neglect but now faces one count of murder and one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury following the tragic death of her daughter, Skyler Gardner. Court documents reveal disturbing details of the child’s final moments in a home described as a biohazard due to extreme filth, human waste, and hazardous conditions.

Abandonment Leads to Tragedy

According to investigators, Gardner routinely left her children alone for extended periods, often spending nights at her boyfriend’s house while her two young children—Skyler and her 4-year-old brother—were left to fend for themselves.

On January 25, at approximately 6:30 p.m., Gardner dialed 911 to report that she had found Skyler unresponsive and “cold to the touch” under a bedroom dresser. She claimed she had returned to the apartment to feed her children when she discovered that Skyler was not moving, prompting her to call for help.

When emergency responders arrived, they found Skyler had already passed away. Rigor mortis had set in, indicating she had been dead for some time. Doctors later determined hypothermia as the likely cause of death.

A cluttered and unsanitary room with a stained mattress and scattered debris.

Horrific Living Conditions Exposed

A walk-through of the home revealed deplorable conditions:

• Trash, human feces, and rotting food scattered throughout the apartment

• Steak knives and hazardous objects left on the floor

• Feces smeared on the walls

• The temperature inside ranged from 46 to 51 degrees despite freezing temperatures outside

Skyler’s tiny body showed patterned bruising and bite marks, which authorities suspect were caused by previous abuse. A large puncture wound on her neck was attributed to a rodent post-mortem, and her stomach contents included hair and feces, highlighting the extreme neglect she endured.

A severely cluttered apartment room is strewn with trash, human waste, and decaying food, creating an environment of extreme neglect and unsanitary conditions.

Mother Admits to Chronic Neglect

After her Miranda warning, Gardner confessed to police that she had knowingly neglected her daughter. She admitted that she frequently left the children alone for more than 24 hours, only returning once a day to provide food. She also stated that she had not bathed her son in nearly two weeks and that she had stopped taking them out in public altogether out of fear that others would notice signs of neglect.

Gardner acknowledged that the apartment had no working heat but deliberately avoided requesting repairs because she didn’t want anyone to discover the horrific living conditions or that the children had been left alone.

“She tried cleaning the walls and maintaining things, but it became too overwhelming,” the affidavit stated. Eventually, she abandoned the home altogether because of the overwhelming stench.

Boyfriend Also Arrested for Cover-Up

Gardner’s boyfriend, Brian Thomas, was also arrested and charged with two counts of assisting a criminal after allegedly lying to police during the investigation. He confirmed that Gardner rarely had her children with her, saying she only brought them to his home “once a week at most.”

Legal Consequences & What’s Next

Gardner is currently being held without bond at the Marion County Jail, while Thomas was released on $6,000 bond and ordered to remain under home detention with a GPS tracker.

As this tragic case unfolds, many are left wondering how two young children could have been left to suffer in such appalling conditions without intervention.