A Louisiana mom is accused of stealing baby formula before accidentally killing her own child in a high speed chase — and now the story is going viral. The incident reportedly took place last week at a Louisiana Walmart, illustrating the stark reality of the current shortage of available nourishment for newborns and young infants.
According to The Daily Mail, 38-year-old Candace Gill was caught shoplifting baby formula at a Walmart in Louisiana along with her boyfriend. Instead of giving up the stolen goods, the couple fled from the store and sped away in their car with Gill’s five-week-old daughter. Shortly after leaving the store, police became involved and a high speed chase ensued.
Crime Online reports that Candace Gill was driving a silver Camaro at the time of the chase, and she was driving recklessly at high speeds in order to outrun the police who pursued her. At some point during the chase, the Camaro collided with another vehicle at an intersection, which apparently mangled the getaway car — but not the woman driving it. Police say the 38-year-old mother fled from the totaled vehicle on foot, leaving behind her boyfriend and her five-week old daughter. When police arrived to the scene of the wreck, they discovered that the woman’s boyfriend — a man named Edward Williams — died from injuries sustained on impact. Meanwhile, the five-week-old daughter of Candace Gill had not been properly strapped into her carseat (possibly due to the haste in which they left Walmart moments prior), and she was critically injured. Unfortunately, the infant did not survive the accident. She was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after she was transported. Candace Gill was later apprehended at an unidentified residence.
This is an absolutely gut-wrenching situation that appears to all be the result of the baby formula shortage that is affecting parents all over the country. Not only is this problem affecting the southern U.S. especially hard, but this is a place that is already plagued by poverty. It seems that this entire situation — including the deaths of a man and a five-week-old child — could have been prevented if the security guard at Walmart chose not to call police. Yes, theft is generally an illegal act — but parents are desperately struggling to find baby formula as it is, and this newborn baby needed to eat. Now, instead of getting any kind of nourishment, the little girl is dead.
As for Candace Gill, she has been charged with two counts of manslaughter and is currently being held in jail. Her bond is set to nearly $300k, which she obviously can’t afford since this entire situation stems from her not being able to pay for baby formula. She made a fatal mistake by running from the security guard — and then police — when she and her boyfriend were caught stealing, and her decisions led to the deaths of that boyfriend and her very young child. Now she must live with the unbearable guilt of what happened for the rest of her life. Will those years be spent in prison, or will a judge and jury ultimately have mercy on her due to the circumstances?
Chelsea Hoffman is a true crime writer with over a decade of professional writing experience. She is best known for her coverage of missing people including the tragic disappearance of Madeleine McCann as well as the heartbreaking cases of Dylan Redwine, Heather Elvis and many others.
