A North Carolina mother was charged with manslaughter this month after her baby boy suffocated to death while they slept together. The second time, one of the newborns died while she was sleeping with her mother, police said.
The latest tragedy to strike the family occurred last October, when a 7-week-old infant was found unconscious after sleeping in a queen-sized bed with her mother, Mackenzie Catlin Reed, another parent and their twins. when he was found by Wilmington police, officials claim in documents obtained. By Star News.
The child, named Jen, was not breathing and could not be saved.
According to the paper, a police report alleges that in the hours leading up to the child’s death on Oct. 2, 2023, “the mother was smoking THC and using THC gummies day and night.” .
According to the newspaper, an autopsy report from the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner found Jen’s cause of death was “asphyxia due to an unsafe sleeping environment.”
The autopsy report said the child also had human rhino/enterovirus infection, also known as the common cold, which contributed to her death.
The autopsy said Jen was found “prone with her face in a blanket.”
Officials said the child’s father woke up around 2 a.m. after Jen’s twin brother started crying and found the infant face down on the right side of the mother.
This is not the first time one of Reid’s children has died while sleeping next to her.
Reed’s 3-month-old son, Justin, died in 2022, Starz News reported, citing police.
In the police report, her mother reportedly said, “I can’t believe this is happening again.”
The New Hanover County District Attorney’s Office said Reed was not charged in the 2022 case because there was insufficient evidence to prosecute. According to WECT.
Reed was charged on March 6 with manslaughter, child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury and child abuse and neglect resulting in serious bodily injury in the 2023 death, according to jail records.
Jen is remembered as a baby who loved to smile. According to the child’s obituary.
“His love of music was matched only by the way he smiled and cooed at his mother, melting her heart with every interaction,” the obi states. “Jen also had a mischievous side and would often playfully raise her eyebrows or give his father sidelong glances.”
