An Indiana mother has been arrested months after her baby daughter died from a lack of oxygen to the brain. Shiann Bodkins, 19, was charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death in connection with the baby’s May death.
According to court documents obtained by local WTHR, police were called to a home in Marion, Indiana, on May 3 after reports of a “child in life-threatening condition.” The infant was taken to a hospital, where she died on May 9.
In an interview with police, Bodkins allegedly said she was co-sleeping with her baby because the infant was “uncomfortable” sleeping in a bassinet.
Police said Bodkins told them that even though she “knew” co-sleeping with her baby was wrong, she claimed the baby slept better in her bed, which meant she also slept better. She said that when she and the baby co-slept, another family member would keep an eye on the child while she slept.
According to the court documents, Bodkins told police her mother woke her around 10 a.m. and said the baby was “awake, moving and making noise.” Then, at 10:30 a.m. on May 3, her mother woke her again and said the baby was not moving or breathing, according to reporting on the documents by local Fox.
Police said an autopsy listed the baby’s cause of death as “anoxic encephalopathy and an unsafe sleep environment.”
Asked about the night before the baby was found unresponsive, Bodkins said she was playing video games with her mother before going to bed. She told police that between 5:30 and 6 a.m., the baby’s father woke her so he could get some sleep, and she began watching the baby.
Police said Bodkins got up to feed and change the baby, then went back to bed, placing the child between herself and the baby’s father. According to court documents, she repeated that routine a couple of hours later, before her mother woke her at 10 a.m.
Bodkins did not appear on the Grant County Sheriff’s Office jail roster on Wednesday. She is scheduled to appear in court again on Nov. 6.
The case highlights the risks of unsafe sleep environments for infants. Safe sleep guidelines generally recommend that babies sleep on their backs, on a firm surface, in their own sleep space such as a crib or bassinet, and without soft bedding. The charge against Bodkins is an allegation, and she is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.