An Indiana mother faces charges in connection with the death of her young son, who was left in a car seat for more than 13 hours, finding him not breathing and unconscious upon waking.
Raeleigh Phillips22, was arrested in the death of her son, Emmett Phillips, who was just 9 days old, according to an affidavit. The mother was charged with dependency neglect and manslaughter, WLWT reported.
It was last March 3 when Lawrenceburg police responded to a report at an apartment on Bellaire Drive, about a baby who was unresponsive and purple.
Emergency crews performed CPR on Emmett and transported him to St. Elizabeth Dearborn Hospital, where he was determined to be deceased, according to the affidavit viewed by FOX19.
The accused fell asleep
According to Dearborn County Prosecutor Lynn Deddensthe baby was dead for an extended period before first responders arrived at the home.
A death investigation revealed that Raeleigh allegedly left her son in his car seat for 13 hours between March 2 and 3. She told investigators she fell asleep and woke up with her son hunched over in the car seat and “cold to the touch.”
It was later discovered that Raeleigh I hadn’t fed the baby for 14 hours and that he was wearing a dirty diaper.
The Dearborn County Coroner’s Office determined that Emmett died from positional asphyxiation, meaning the child I was in a position where I couldn’t breathe properly..
Before Emmett’s death, the 22-year-old went to a friend’s house on March 1 and spent the night there in Aurora, Indiana, according to court documents. Her son was with her at the time.
On March 2, Raeleigh put Emmett in his car seat at 1 pm to return home. She arrived at the apartment around 2 pm. She noticed that her son was asleep, so she took him inside and left him in the car seat.
“The baby is not breathing”
The woman told investigators that He spent time watching television and didn’t check on Emmett because “he seemed happy.”. The young mother said she fell asleep between 4:30 and 5 pm in her bedroom with the car seat next to her.
When she woke up about nine hours later, it was early Sunday morning, and Raeleigh noticed her son was cold and limp, according to the affidavit.
Her roommates told detectives that she was hysterical and screamed: “Help me… call 911… The baby is not breathing”. That’s when they called 911 for help.
The mother remains in custody pending bail set at $200,000 surety, plus $7,500 cash.
Records show Phillips was convicted of neglect of a dependent in a separate case in 2022.
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