Viswa Vanapalli
Taylor Syring’s sudden death left his mother, Kelly Syring, devastated. She was shocked to learn about the events that led to his murder and how his stepmother, Laura Day, was responsible. ABC News’ ‘20/20: Wave of Deceit’ delves into the tragic tale of how a six-year-old lost his life and his parents were only left with his memories. On the show, Kelly shared her experience dealing with it all. So, let’s find out more about her then, shall we?
Who is Kelly Syring?
While David Syring was still married to Kelly, he cheated on her with Laura Day, another married woman. That extramarital affair eventually led to David and Kelly’s separation. Regarding the time following that, Kelly said, “It was not easy. I was still very much in love with him. I was very angry. [Taylor] was heartbroken.” Just months later, David married Laura, influenced by a clause in the divorce agreement.
According to David, Kelly didn’t want any overnight guests around Taylor, not unless that person was married to David. After the marriage, Laura and David hired attorneys to gain primary custody of Taylor and move out of Texas. However, that didn’t seem like a possibility by October 2012. On the fifth of that month, Laura picked up Taylor from school and drove him to the beach, where he eventually drowned in the waters.
While that weekend was not David’s time with Taylor, Kelly let her son go because he wanted to visit his father badly. Kelly later said that she didn’t know of Laura picking Taylor up, adding she wouldn’t have let it happen. Furthermore, like David, even Laura noted that their son wasn’t a strong swimmer. But sadly, Laura’s trip with Taylor to the beach ended with her driving his unresponsive body to a local hospital.
Kelly also talked about Laura’s demeanor on the day Taylor died, adding, “She was standing there. Just not doing anything. Not crying. Nothing. Just standing there. As if she had the right to be there. All I could do was just cry. Just lay my head on my son and just cry.” Ultimately, the prosecution presented enough evidence for the jury to convict Laura of murder, sentencing her to life in prison.
Where is Kelly Syring Today?
Over time, Kelly learned to live without her son and has let go of the anger. She said, “Well, I have forgiven Laura. That doesn’t mean she needs to come out of jail. Look at that, why should she get off so easy? She gets to spend the rest of her life in a jail cell. Miserable. And as far as my ex-husband… I blame him, too. I do blame him. This is partly his fault. He knew about her past.”
As a way to deal with Taylor’s death, Kelly has continued to celebrate his birthday in different ways every year. She added, “It puts some kind of normalcy back in my life.” For his tenth birthday in 2016, Kelly held a Splash Day at the Corpus Christi Natatorium in Texas. Apart from games for children, a booth taught CPR basics and water safety. In 2021, Kelly camped out at a national forest in Colorado for Taylor’s birthday. From what we can tell, Kelly still lives in Texas and seems to work as a massage therapist at a wellness center.
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