Family drops off kids to mom who didn’t have custody, then baby dies, Florida cops say

A 3-month-old baby died while co-sleeping with her mom, who wasn’t allowed to see her kids without supervision, Florida deputies said.

Now, the 28-year-old mother is charged with negligent manslaughter of a child, two counts of child neglect and drug-related offenses, the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office said in a June 24 news release. Her 49-year-old cousin, who had custody of two of the woman’s three kids, is charged with child neglect.

Attorney information for the two women isn’t available in county court records as of June 24.

The court had ordered that the woman’s three kids weren’t allowed to live with their mom or have unsupervised visits with her due to “her history of drug use and inadequate supervision of the children,” deputies said.

But on the evening of May 3, the cousin dropped off the 3-month-old and 2-year-old so she could take her own kids skating, deputies said. She said she would come back but didn’t, according to investigators.

That night, the mom is accused of doing drugs and going to sleep on the same mattress as her two kids.

At some point, she rolled on top of the infant, restricting her breathing, deputies said. The next morning, first responders said they received a call of an unresponsive baby.

They found the Avon Park home “filthy,” with no running water, boarded up windows and methamphetamine within easy reach of the kids, deputies said. The baby was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly before 7:30 a.m. The medical examiner said the cause was an accidental overlay.

The woman’s 4-year-old was also at her home when deputies arrived that morning, investigators said. The woman’s parents, who had custody of her 4-year-old, were charged with child neglect and accused of leaving the child in the mom’s care.

Avon Park is a 75-mile drive southeast from Tampa.

This story was originally published June 24, 2024 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Family drops off kids to mom who didn’t have custody, then baby dies, Florida cops say."