An Indiana mother who admitted to suffocating her baby to death while high on methamphetamine will be freed this week after a judge found her “not guilty” but “not guilty.”
Dasia Lacey, 32, told police in August 2022 that she used a couch cushion to suffocate her two-month-old daughter, Alona, to “get her to sleep a little bit.” daily mail report.
She initially told police it was an accident, but during a police interrogation five months later, she finally broke down in tears and said that Arona had choked her because she wouldn’t stop crying.
During the trial, which was deliberated by a judge alone without a jury, Lacey’s 911 call was broadcast into the courtroom. oh my god! My baby died! My newborn baby died! ”
When first responders arrived at the Indianapolis home, the infant was already dead. WTRH report.
“Toxicology results revealed the presence of methamphetamine in Dacia’s system on the day the baby died,” local media said.
Alona’s autopsy was inconclusive and it was not possible to conclude whether her death was a homicide.
Lacey’s initial claims to detectives before the confession were disputed by her 5-year-old daughter, who said, “Mommy got furious and hit the baby with a pillow and put the pillow in his face.”
The father’s fiancée, who cared for 5-year-old Lacey after her sister’s death, also testified that he heard the girl’s disturbing recollection of events.
The woman said in court, “My mom got really mad at me because I couldn’t stop crying.” “And she put her pillow in her face and hit her.” And I was like, ‘What? For example, what did she just say? ”
However, Justice Stoner said the child’s testimony was unreliable because he “could only hear emotions and repeat things without understanding them.”
The judge said there was no physical evidence of neglect or physical abuse of the infant.
Jamie Davis, a child abuse detective with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, testified that Lacey came up with several versions of events before he finally confessed.
The murder suspect was “sitting in my lap and crying on my shoulder, telling me that I had done something wrong to my baby, that I had suffocated him,” Davis said. “Basically, she said she was high and tired and Alona was crying. Eventually, she picked Alona up and headed towards the crease of the couch. So the back of the couch If there was and then there was a seating area, she placed it with her face towards the crease.”
Justice Stoner said he would have found Lacey guilty if he had been charged with manslaughter or reckless homicide, but could not find him guilty of intentionally killing the baby.
“You’re not innocent, but you’re not guilty of the crimes the state has accused you of,” he told her as the trial drew to a close.
“This is what happens when you’re a bad parent. There are some things you just can’t do. You can never monopolize your kids and let them go out and do drugs,” he continued, adding that he “reluctantly” released her. “Not every mistake or every thing that is wrong is a crime,” he added.
“You have to do something with criminal intent and criminal responsibility, and that’s what the defendant is charged with,” Stoner added. “When the state charges an individual, it has to prove that they did something with criminal intent. By definition, improper parenting is not a crime.”
