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A mum murdered her two-year-old son and dumped his body in a pile of laundry and litter, a court heard. Nichole Lynn Boyer turned herself in days after police found the toddler's decomposed body at her home. A court heard Boyer, aged 28, told officers: "Just take me to jail" when she reported her gruesome act. But she appeared in court on Tuesday to deny the charge of deliberate homicide. Boyer has now been remanded into custody to appear in court again at a later date. The child, a judge was told, was discovered in an advanced state of decomposition at the mum's home in Lima, Montana, on October 16. According to an affidavit, investigators immediately noticed a strong odour upon entering the house. Deputies quickly "observed the smell of decomposing human remains" in a residence described as being in "poor condition," filled with piles of trash, rotten food, and animal faeces. The child, who had severe disabilities including spina bifida, club feet, and hydrocephalus, was found in an upstairs bedroom. The court in Montana was told the boy's body was lying on a pile of laundry and trash next to a mattress, covered with a sweatshirt that Boyer claimed belonged to her. The room was noted to be filthy and cold, with an air conditioning unit running despite the outside temperature being around 44C. During an interview with investigators, Boyer allegedly told investigators she kept her son in a padded section of an upstairs bedroom and admitted that she became "overwhelmed" with caring for her father, the toddler and three other children, stating that her commitment to the special-needs son deteriorated in September. And Boyer, it is alleged, told police she stopped checking on him several times a day to deliver food and water — which she would leave on the floor so he could "army crawl" to it — confirming that she "stopped giving him water sometime in September" and "didn’t know the last time she actually remembers [her son] eating." When questioned about her failure to provide care, she allegedly stated that she "didn't prioritise him." Boyer further elaborated on her guilt, reportedly telling investigators: "I believe I should have done more," and agreed that her lack of care led to the child’s death, adding: "my lack of not paying attention and prioritizing other things over him led to him dying." But she denied deliberate homicide during her appearance at Beaverhead County District Court in Dillon, Montana, on Tuesday. Yet, police stated that Boyer knew for weeks that was deceased but had "convinced herself he was still alive" until she finally called authorities.
