A Montana woman has been arrested and charged with homicide after police found the decomposing body of her 2-year-old son inside her home. Nichole Lynn Boyer, 28, faces one count of deliberate homicide and is being held at the Beaverhead County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
According to court documents, Boyer called 911 on October 16 to report that her son, identified as S.B., had been sick for months and had died. When a Beaverhead County Sheriff’s deputy arrived at her residence on Main Street in Lima, Boyer allegedly told the officer, “Just take me to jail.”
Investigators reported that the home was in extremely poor condition, with piles of trash, rotting food, and animal feces scattered throughout. A strong odor of decomposition filled the air. The child’s body was discovered in an upstairs bedroom, lying on a pile of laundry and trash next to a mattress. He was covered with a sweatshirt that Boyer said belonged to her.
The room was described as filthy, with an air conditioning unit running despite outside temperatures hovering around 44 degrees. Court documents revealed that S.B. suffered from spina bifida, club feet, and hydrocephalus, conditions that left him severely disabled and unable to walk. Boyer told investigators she kept him confined to an upstairs room and would bring him food and water several times a day.
However, she later admitted that she stopped caring for him in September. “I believe I should have done more,” Boyer reportedly told investigators. “My lack of paying attention and prioritizing other things over him led to his dying.”
During an interview with the Montana Department of Criminal Investigation, Boyer allegedly said she kept her son in a padded section of the bedroom, leaving water in a “to-go” bottle and placing food on the floor so he could “army crawl” to reach it.
Court documents stated that Boyer gave her son Tylenol during the summer but stopped in September because she “didn’t want to give him too much.” She admitted she never took him to a doctor, believing she had everything necessary to care for him at home. Boyer told investigators that she eventually became “overwhelmed” and “didn’t prioritize him.”
She reportedly stopped giving the child water last month and could not recall when he last ate. Investigators said Boyer admitted she knew he was dead for weeks but “convinced herself he was still alive” before finally calling authorities.
Family members told police they had not seen or heard from the child since September. Boyer’s mother said her daughter recently made comments that she was “a horrible mother” and expected to “go to jail for life.” Other children and an adult were removed from the home. Boyer is scheduled to make her initial court appearance on Tuesday at 9 a.m.