POLICE: Child Dies In Mom's Care, Husband Deployed Overseas

Tiffany Nicole Klapheke allegedly neglected her three children while her husband was overseas. One of the children died.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- A Texas woman who claims her military husband's deployment overseas left her too stressed to care for their three young children, one of whom died, remained jailed Friday in connection with their alleged neglect.

Tiffany Nicole Klapheke is charged with three felony counts of injury to a child in connection with her 22-month-old daughter's death and the severe neglect of her two other daughters, ages 6 months and 3 years, Abilene police said.

Klapheke, 21, remained in the Taylor County Jail in Abilene with bonds totaling $500,000. She does not yet have an attorney, according to jail records.

Her toddler suffered from dehydration and malnutrition from a lack of basic care over a period of time, according to the preliminary autopsy report from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office in Fort Worth. The report also shows that the toddler weighed only 17.5 pounds and her body had chemical burns, indicating the child was exposed to human waste. The toddler died at an Abilene hospital after being found unresponsive at her Dyess Air Force Base home Tuesday.

The woman's two other daughters were treated for severe neglect at a children's hospital in Fort Worth, about 150 miles east of Abilene. They were to be taken out of intensive care soon, Abilene police said.

Marleigh Meisner, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, said her office has custody of the two girls. Meisner declined to discuss whether Klapheke had a prior history with the agency. Her office is talking to relatives as part of its 30-day investigation to determine the best placement for the children, she said.

In an interview from jail, Klapheke told Abilene's KTAB-TV that she should have been a good mother and taken them to the doctor, but "I didn't put them first anymore."

Klapheke, who moved with her husband to Texas a couple of years ago from Lexington, Ky., said none of her relatives live in the area. She also said she tried committing suicide three weeks ago but a friend stopped her.

"I'm so just stressed out and depressed, and I just need help taking care of them, and I don't have any help," she told the station.

Klapheke recalled her impatience over her children's potty training, saying she left her toddler in the crib in her own urine for nearly a week.

"I just got tired of always changing the sheets, so it was on there a little bit longer than it should have been," she said about her deceased daughter's exposure to human waste.

"I made a horrible, horrible mistake that I'm going to pay for for the rest of my life," she said.

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Woman Fears Husband Who Faked Own Death Is Out To Kill Her

The wife of a man who faked his own drowning off the coast of Long Island is asking for protection from her husband of 12 years because she fears might try to hurt her.

Raymond Roth disappeared while swimming at Jone Beach on July 28, but was spotted speeding days later in South Carolina. Last week, his wife Evana Roth showed reporters emails between her husband and stepson that revealed the elder Roth's apparent plot to fake his own death.

But with her husband's scam laid bare, she told the New York Post that she's afraid he'll retaliate against her.

"I’m afraid he’s going to come after me because I’m the one who found out he was alive,” Evana, 43, said, according to the Post.

Evana, a doctor's receptionist, said that her husband drank too much and used abusive language with her, The New York Times said.

Text messages Raymond, 47, sent her on Friday around the time of her press conference indicated that he was driving near the couple's Massapequa home, but his whereabouts are still unknown.

"The place looks a little crowded. I just drive by," he wrote, according to ABC News. " Call me later."

Evana says she's already changed the locks on their house.

Roth wants to get a court order of protection against her husband, ABC News said.

The mystery began when Raymond's son Jonathan reported that his father vanished on July 28. But Raymond resurfaced in South Carolina when a police officer who pulled him over for speeding saw that his name appeared on a national missing persons registry. Roth told the officer that he was en route to New York.

The emails that Evana disclosed showed that her husband - who recently lost his computer manager job and almost completely emptied their bank account -- had checked into an Orlando resort and he asked his son to contact him there.

Her lawyer alleges that Raymond bumped up his life insurance coverage and removed his wife as executor of his will. The intercepted email messages showed that Raymond directed his son to casually give relatives new copies of his will and to keep an eye on the house, which he'd put up for sale.

Jonathan denied that he knew about his father's intentions, but Evana believes he was in on the scheme and wants a restraining order against him too.

Police haven't decided yet if they'll charge Raymond with a crime.

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