Baby dies after being denied food for two days, mother arrested

 

 

PP Cherian Dallas

Missouri: A Missouri baby died of severe malnutrition after not being fed for nearly two days, authorities say.

A warrant filed in Cape Girardeau Circuit Court shows that Alyssa Nicole Wehmeyer, 21, was arrested Monday on charges of child abuse or neglect resulting in death. She is being held in the Scott County Jail on $100,000 cash bond.

According to the warrant and accompanying affidavit of probable cause, an autopsy found that the one-year-old had not eaten for about 43 hours, and medical examiners said they found “very little evidence of food in the stomach.”

The affidavit states that the Cape Girardeau Police Department found the child’s body at Wehmeyer’s home on Feb. 28 and requested assistance from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Wehmeyer later told investigators that the child had last eaten between 5 and 6 p.m. on Feb. 26.
On Feb. 28, the child woke up around 2 a.m. and cried, during which time Wehmeyer held them for 30 to 40 minutes, then placed them in their crib, . She did not check on the child until 1 p.m. that day, noticing that his lips were blue and he was not breathing,” the affidavit continues.

The warrant for Wehmeyer’s arrest alleges that the child had not eaten in approximately 43 hours. Wehmeyer was arrested at the end of the interview and taken to jail. She has no prior criminal history, according to the affidavit.
If convicted, Wehmeyer faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. She will make her first court appearance on Thursday.