Court Docs: Co-sleeping to blame in death of Penrose baby, 18-year-old mother arrested
PENROSE, Colo. (KRDO) - New court documents reveal what reportedly led up to the death of a six-month-old child in Fremont County and an 18-year-old mother being arrested.
On Aug. 6, the Fremont County Sheriff's Office responded to a Penrose home at 8:25 a.m. According to the affidavit, detectives learned from the Penrose Fire Department (PFD) that a baby had died in the house. The PFD told investigators that no life-saving measures could've been taken because the baby had been "deceased for too long for CPR to be effective."
Through an interview with the mother, Shaelee Smith, investigators learned the child had been found unresponsive after Smith fell asleep with the child on the couch.
According to the affidavit, Smith had driven from Pueblo West the night before to Penrose after getting in a fight with the baby's father.
Smith had also explained to investigators that because of the fight with her boyfriend, she smoked a small amount of concentrated marijuana with her friends to relieve her stress -- but it was the first time she had smoked in about two months.
Smith admitted she had smoked dabs, a marijuana concentrate, at the Penrose house and fell asleep on the couch next to her child. She said she smoked to relieve her stress - but claimed this was the first time she had smoked in about two months.
The other people in the house told investigators Smith hadn't necessarily gotten high, but rather just grew tired, and showed deputies how much they smoked.
Smith said at some point that night she rolled over onto the child. When she woke up, Smith said she turned around and saw the baby behind her covered in vomit.
Smith said she tried waking her baby up by doing chest compressions before running into someone else's room who identified as a volunteer paramedic to help. That's when a third person at the house called 911.
In the affidavit, Smith told investigators she didn't hear her child cry in the night, and neither did the other people staying in the house. During the interview, Smith began crying, saying she couldn't believe she did that and that she should've grabbed the child's bed. "I could have prevented it," said Smith.
She explained she fell asleep facing toward the couch cushions and holding her baby in her arms. She said when she woke up she was facing away from the back of the cushions and the baby was near her lower back.
A victim's advocate told investigators that Smith's mother was coming to the house and they were going to get Smith checked into a hospital.
According to the affidavit, Smith said she had struggled with mental health before the birth of her child - even going as far as to say her baby "was the only reason" she is here.
Smith told investigators the child's paternal grandparents had previously told her not to sleep with the baby.
The affidavit notes an interview with the paternal grandfather, who confirmed he had told Smith not to sleep with the baby because he didn't want the baby to get hurt. He said he was confused because he knew Smith would always set up a safe place for the baby to sleep - even when she was tired or exhausted.
During an interview with the baby's father, he asked if a blood test was going to be done on Smith. According to the affidavit, he believed Smith needed to be tested, alleging that "the people that she (Smith)" was around "are past pill users." He said "They used to do a lot of things" and that's how he initially met Smith. He claimed he tried "to take her out of that kind of place."
The affidavit states an autopsy was performed on the baby by the El Paso County Coroner. The pathologist advised investigators that the baby's death appeared to be consistent with asphyxia due to co-sleeping. A preliminary toxicology report results showed no foreign substances.
Smith faces the charges of Child Abuse Resulting in Death and Reckless Endangerment. She was arrested on Aug. 31 on the aforementioned charges. She was released on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond.
