A Black woman in Arizona was arrested and charged in connection to the death of her one-month-old child. The police didn’t report signs of trauma to the infant but what they did find was a bottle of Children’s NyQuil and an empty syringe.
Phoenix Police responded to the home of Sara Harris on July 30. Her mother called to report an unresponsive infant, per FOX 10. When they arrived, they found a one-month-old lying on a mattress in the living room of the home. The baby was declared dead on the scene. Harris allegedly told investigators the newborn was being “fussy,” and she tried to sooth him with baby ibuprofen and food. She said the next morning she left the house and returned home after an hour because she left her keys.
However, when she managed to get in the door, she said she found her baby unresponsive with a blanket over his face and called her parents. Police disputed this claim, noting that surveillance camera footage showed her leaving the night she fed the baby but she didn’t return until two days later.
It’s unclear if anyone else was present in the home to look after the infant. However, it was clear what happened after the police searched the home for evidence.
Read more from FOX 10 Phoenix:
The infant’s exact identity was not released, but the infant was identified as Harris’ child. The cause of death was later determined to be “tracheal mucus plugging in the setting on Rhinovirus Enterovirus, Chlorpheniramine intoxication, and unsafe sleep environment.”
“Investigators located a bottle of Children’s NyQuil for 6 years and older, red in color, and a syringe with red liquid remnants that appeared the same color as the NyQuil in the kitchen on top of the microwave,” read a portion of the court documents.
“Investigators also located a shopping bag in the trash can, which was similar to the one [Harris] was carrying in the surveillance footage entering the apartment. Also, in the trash can, investigators located a baby bottle filled with what appeared to be white milk, that had a pinkish hue to it and red liquid in the nipple of the bottle.”
The investigation also revealed that Harris might have been a sex worker based on her text messages. She was detained Jan 5. and admitted to giving her son both NyQuil and melatonin before leaving the child unattended with another 17-month-old toddler alone for two days.
Source: A Mother’s Soothing Remedy for ‘Fussy’ Baby Leads to Murder Charge
