Daughter believes mom killed her own baby for insurance money, then blamed Black teenagers
By Boyce Watkin
The tragic shooting death of 13-month old Antonio Santiago has set a Florida community on edge.
When news came out about the senseless killing, millions around the country mourned the baby’s death and wanted to see someone brought to justice for this heinous crime. The child’s mother, Sherry West, said that when she was unable to give money to the young men who robbed her, they shot her and then shot her baby between the eyes.
But a story that hasn’t gotten nearly as much traction in mainstream media is one that puts the entire case into serious doubt. The daughter of Sherry West, Ashley Glassey, says that her mother may have killed the baby on her own in order to get the insurance money.
Glassey says that her mother lost custody of her when she was eight years old. She speaks to her mother every single day and has forgiven her for the trauma she experienced when she was a child. But she is now stating that her mother’s reaction to the shooting of her own son has given her reason to be concerned that the wrong people are being blamed for what happened to the baby.
Glassey says that on the night of the shooting, her mother was far from the grieving parent that many might expect after such a senseless tragedy. Instead, she was concerned a-bout the insurance money.
“How soon do you think life insurance policy will send me a check?” she allegedly asked her daughter.
Glassey also says that her mother was not consistent with her emotions, crying one minute and fine the next. But her mother says that there were other witnesses who also confirm that the incident took place as she described it.
“I spoke with the detectives and investigators and the evidence leads to many witnesses, not just me,” said West.
But Glassey says that police should carefully look into her mother’s claims, since she has schizophrenic tendencies. As it stands, two teens have been indicted for murdering the child. It appears that this investigation is far from being over.
