According to the court documents, the 26-year-old defendant, later identified as Jocelyn, was sentenced to five years on supervised probation.
Prosecutors said the mother reportedly got high on meth before she fell asleep on her baby and suff0cated the child to death. The mother, who had a history of substance abuse, will not spend a day in jail after she reached a deal with prosecutors. Jocelyn reportedly pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter resulting from child neglect or endangerment.
Third Judicial District Court Judge Kevin also ordered the mother to serve 200 hours of community service. The unfortunate incident occurred on December 13, 2021. The 911 caller told the dispatcher that a baby was bleding from the nose and not breathing. The responding officers found the newborn baby lying on the floor. They realized that the baby had no pulse and was immediately rushed to hospital.
During an interview with investigators, the mother reportedly said that she went to sleep on the couch with the victim between her body and the couch cushions. Her friend reportedly woke her up before she grabbed the baby and attempted CPR. Jocelyn’s friend told investigators that when she returned to Jocelyn’s apartment, she reportedly saw Jocelyn’s chest atop the victim’s face, advising that the child was purple and blue. An autopsy determined that the baby’s cause of death was asphyxia due to overlay while co-sleeping with an adult.
The responding officers reportedly found a full syringe with meth. Officers also found three needles, a digital scale, a meth pipe on the bed near a baby bottle and 1 gram of meth. Police officials also said that the bottle niple also tested positive for meth. Investigators also revealed that the baby tested positive for narcotics as well. In a follow-up interview, the mother reportedly told investigators that she’d been using meth daily for about three weeks before the fatal incident.
