Deputies: Woman high on meth caused baby's death
Mar. 3—A 31-year-old Kokomo woman faces a charge of reckless homicide after investigators say she was high on methamphetamine before her 4-month-old baby was found dead in a Miami County residence.
Deputies responded to a residence Dec. 6 on Strawtown Pike near Ind. 18 in Miami County on a call about an unresponsive infant, Harley Mayhew.
First responders arrived and initiated CPR on the child. The baby then was transported by Miami County EMS to Dukes Hospital in Peru, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival, according to a probable-cause affidavit.
Deputies said the evidence indicated the child had been deceased for an extended period of time, possibly a few hours.
An autopsy determined the cause of death as "sudden unexplained infant death," with contributing factors including sleeping in an adult bed with a mother in an intoxicated state, according to the affidavit.
The mother, Amanda Burns, reported to detectives she placed the child in an adult bed the night before and slept beside her. She told deputies when she awoke at approximately 11:30 a.m., after 12 hours of sleep, the baby was still beside her, face down.
Burns said she believed the infant was asleep, so she waited another 45 minutes before checking on the child. When she did, Burns stated her baby was blue in the face and not breathing.
In a later interview, Burns admitted to smoking meth and marijuana before putting the child to sleep. Deputies say she also called another person to come to the residence before calling 911 after finding the baby not breathing, according to the affidavit.
Investigators later found drug paraphernalia in the room of Burns' 15-month-old child.
Deputies also said Burns was Facebook messaging with someone two days before the baby died, saying "These kids have stressed me out" and "I can't do it by myself anymore."
Burns later stated on Facebook she was going to drop off the kids at another person's house and "I'm not looking back," according to the affidavit.
On Jan. 29, a toxicologist reported to deputies that oral swabs and blood draws showed Burns was under the influence of meth and marijuana.
Burns faces charges of neglect resulting in death, a Level 1 felony; reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony; neglect of a dependent, a Level 6 felony; and a misdemeanor charge of possession of paraphernalia.
She was incarcerated at the Miami County Jail on a $63,000 surety bond.
Carson Gerber can be reached at 765-854-6739, carson.gerber@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter @carsongerber1.
