A Pennsylvania woman reportedly fell asleep on her infant child, killing him. But officials said that it’s the second time the woman has killed a child by sleeping on them.
Rebecca Hallock, 37, is facing felony charges in connection with the November 2019 death of her 3-week-old son, according to PennLive. The child’s cause of death was described as “compatible with mechanical asphyxia due to co-sleeping with parent,” the local medical examiner’s office in Scranton said.
Authorities said last week that Hallock was under the influence of methamphetamine and THC when the child suffocated. She now faces involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, and endangering the welfare of children charges, officials said in the report.
Local officials came to the conclusion that she could be charged after a monthslong investigation into the case.
“The baby woke up around 3 a.m. and she picked him up and fell asleep with him, and about 7 she woke up and noticed he was not breathing,” Captain Dennis Lukasewicz told People magazine. “She tried to do CPR and called 911.”
Reports said the newborn’s death was ruled accidental.
“There were drugs involved in her system,” Lukasewicz added.
However, according to local news website PaHomePage, Hallock was involved in a similar incident in 2017. She said she was sleeping with her 1-month-old child, and when she awoke, the child had died.
“She was sleeping with a one-month-old and the child also died from suffocation,” Lukasewicz said, adding that Hallock told investigators about the 2017 incident. “Basically, the same type of incident.”
It’s not clear if she has an attorney. She is now being held on $75,000 bond.
