A three-week-old baby boy was found looking pale with a dark substance around his mouth, as law enforcement officials learned his mother had breastfed him after allegedly smoking meth just days before, according to police officials.
23-year-old Jessie Lee Kittelson has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide, chronic neglect of a child resulting in death, and possession of methamphetamine, according to court records as reported by Law and Crime.
26-year-old Taylor Jae Olson is facing the same charges after the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department was called to a report of a three-week-old baby not breathing on March 14.
A sergeant attended a residence in the town of Trimbelle, Wisconsin, which is located around 45miles away from the State’s capital, Minneapolis.
The responding officer found the child pale and blue, with a dark substance around his mouth and nose, according to NBC affiliate WEAU, citing a criminal complaint.
The baby, when police entered the residence, did not have a pulse and was nothing breathing. Emergency responders quickly arrived at the scene, too, but medical professionals pronounced the boy dead at the scene.
Law enforcement interviewed Kittelson, who allegedly said she used meth during her entire pregnancy, smoked it three days before, and she breastfed the baby.
Olson reportedly said he was the one obtaining the meth, giving it to Kittelson to use, according to police officials.
According to the Sheriff’s office, Kittelson said she “pumped and dumped” her breast milk for 48 hours Orio and used milk she had stored from when she was “clean” to feed her son.
The defendant allegedly appeared confused about how the baby could have been exposed to the meth, though she was found to be Google searching how long meth stays in breast milk, according to the court document.
An autopsy determined the baby died of methamphetamine toxicity. Kittelson and Olson are scheduled for an initial court appearance on September 2.
