The mother of the 6-month-old baby who died in a Penrose home on Aug. 6 admitted to smoking a "dab" the night before the baby was found responsive and pinned between her and the cushions on the back of a couch, according to an arrest affidavit.
The Fremont County Sheriff's Office arrested Shealee Kristin Smith, 18, of Pueblo, on Thursday on charges of child abuse, a Class 2 felony, and reckless endangerment, a Class 3 misdemeanor.
She later was released from custody on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond.
On Aug. 6, emergency crews responded to a home in the 700 block of Broadway just after 8:30 a.m. in reference to a baby who was not breathing.
The affidavit, written by Fremont County Sheriff's Detective Howard Burton, states that Penrose Fire Department personnel advised arriving deputies that no life-saving measures could be taken and that the baby was already deceased. Penrose Fire responders said they had tried CPR, but it was quickly realized that the baby had been deceased too long for CPR to be effective.
Law enforcement searched the immediate area in the room where the baby was located and found marijuana made into "dabs" (in this case, it was a mixture of THC and CBD), multiple beer cans and multiple prescription bottles.
"Shealee said she slept on the couch with (redacted) and rolled over on (redacted)," the affidavit states.
She said she had a pack-and-play that the baby usually slept in, but it was still in the car. She said she had fallen asleep on the couch, facing the back cushions, with the baby in her arms.
When asked if she used THC, Smith responded, "I did; that's probably why I didn't wake up, because I smoked before I went to bed last night," the affidavit states. "But I don't smoke. I barely smoke."
She told authorities that she did not get high, but instead had gotten tired.
She was asked how many dabs she had smoked the night before, to which she responded, "The tiniest dab ever."
When she woke up and discovered that the baby was partially underneath her, pinned between the back couch cushions and her back, she started doing chest compressions. She then ran with the baby to the bedroom of one of the house occupants, a volunteer paramedic, who also administered CPR while another resident called 911.
The El Paso County Coroner's Office said the death appeared to be consistent with asphyxia due to co-sleeping.
Smith is slated to appear for filing of charges Wednesday.
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