A mom who covered up for her boyfriend, who abused her 2-year-old child while the pair continued to collect child support payments from the girl's father, is facing a New Jersey court for child endangerment and theft.
Monique Durham admitted to the police that her boyfriend, Matthew Chiles III, killed her daughter, Sydney Durham, on June 6, 2019. Sydney was beaten to death, and Chiles disposed of the body.
The mother watched as her boyfriend walked out of their house with her daughter in his arms. When he returned, Chiles didn't tell his partner where Sydney was buried because "it would be better if she didn't know," per ABC 7. She never reported him to the police.
Sydney had a twin sister, now five years old, and a stepbrother, who is Chiles' son from a previous relationship. The boy, 11, told the police he had been missing his stepsister for three years.
He also said that Monique and his father instructed them to tell people, if they asked, that another family had adopted Sydney. The mention of her name was forbidden in the house.
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Spinning lies upon lies
Sydney's death was uncovered in early 2022 after the mother and her boyfriend were investigated by the Department of Children and Families Child Protection and Permanency Office. According to NJ.com, the agency received a tip that an unnamed five-year-old girl was being abused at the couple's home. Neighbors also did not know the whereabouts of the girl's twin sister anymore.
Monique allegedly told the child protection investigators that Sydney was now living with a relative in North Carolina on the side of Sydney's dad. She claimed to have given up custody of the child.
Sydney's twin sister, on the other hand, told investigators that Chiles beat her, but she no longer had any knowledge of a twin. She had been taken under custody, away from her mother and her boyfriend.
Chiles' former partner, the mother of his son, also told the police that she asked them about Sydney. Monique got angry and did not want to talk about her daughter.
The Child Protection and Permanency Office said the mother and her boyfriend made every attempt to obstruct and stonewall the investigations, especially in locating Sydney. After interviewing Sydney's biological dad, the investigators later found out that the alleged relatives in North Carolina were non-existent. He also said he was no longer involved with his kids except for paying child support.
As the agency was closing in on the couple, Monique and Chiles fled their apartment, but police found them living in a motel. They were arrested in June.
Mom released from jail, sent to home detention
Monique is currently out of jail and was allowed home detention with an electric monitor. However, the court has barred her from seeing her surviving daughter without supervision.
Chiles, on the other hand, remained in jail. According to New Jersey News 12, his lawyer had pinned the death on Monique, who also conjured the lie about Sydney's adoption.
The pair will be back in court in the coming weeks.
