An Indiana mother was charged this week over the March 3 death of her newborn that she allegedly left strapped to a car seat for 13 hours.
Raeleigh Phillips, 22, was charged with reckless homicide in the death of her 9-day-old son Emmett Phillips.
Prosecutors alleged the baby was found unresponsive in a Lawrenceburg apartment.
The baby died from positional asphyxia after he was left in a position preventing him from adequate breathing for long hours.
Phillips admitted to leaving her son in the car seat while visiting her friend and even after returning home and even while she took a nap.
The mother called 911 when she couldn’t wake the child who was then cold to the touch and not breathing.
Investigators believe the newborn, who had a soiled diaper, was not fed in about 14 hours and was dead for a long period when Phillips called the police.
“It kind of tore me up,” a neighbor said of the baby’s death. “It really broke my heart. I’ve seen a lot of stuff here over the years, but we’ve never had anything like this here.”
