Mom leaves baby in car seat for 13 hours, leading to his death, Indiana officials say
An Indiana mother is accused of leaving her newborn baby in his car seat for 13 hours, leading to his death, officials say.
On March 3, police and EMS personnel responded to a call about an unresponsive infant, Dearborn County Prosecutor Lynn Deddens said in a Facebook post on April 10.
Despite lifesaving measures, the infant was determined to have died, according to Deddens. The baby was 9 days old, according to WXIX, citing court records.
An investigation into the baby’s death determined he was dead “for an extended period of time prior to the arrival of first responders,” Deddens said.
Officials said the baby was in the care of his mother, 22-year-old Raeleigh Phillips, of Patriot, Indiana, at the time of his death.
“Phillips claimed she had fallen asleep and then found her infant son slouched in the car seat,” Deddens said. Investigators believe the baby was in his car seat for approximately 13 hours and had not been fed in 14 hours, according to officials.
An autopsy determined the baby’s probable cause of death was positional asphyxia.
Phillips was arrested April 9 and charged with reckless homicide and neglect of a dependent resulting in death, court records show.
Her bond was set at $200,000, Deddens said.
McClatchy News reached out Phillips’s attorney April 11 for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Patriot is along the Indiana-Kentucky border and is about a 50-mile drive southwest from Cincinnati, Ohio.
What is positional asphyxia?
Positional asphyxia happens when a baby’s body blocks their airway, like when a baby’s head is slumped over or a baby’s chin is pressing into their chest, according to researchers at Oklahoma State University.
Because newborns and young infants are unable to move on their own or reposition themselves when they’re unable to breathe, they are at high risk of dying from positional asphyxia, researches say.
Ill-fitting car seats and loose car seat straps can cause a baby to slump over, putting them at risk for positional asphyxia.
“Car seats are not designed for safe sleeping or for unsupervised awake time,” researchers say. “NEVER leave a child unattended.”
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