No Prison Time For Pennsylvania Mother After Baby Dies From Drug-Laced Breast Milk
CHALFONT, Pa. (CBS/AP) — A Pennsylvania mother who prosecutors say killed her 11-week-old son with a lethal mix of drugs in her breast milk is not going to prison. Under terms of a plea agreement, a judge has sentenced 31-year-old Samantha Jones to three years' probation and 100 hours of community service, after she pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
The Bucks County District Attorney's Office says an autopsy found the baby died in April 2018 from a combination of methadone, amphetamine and methamphetamine.
The investigation began on April 2, 2018 when the child was found pale, with bloody mucous coming from his nose.
"I never wanted this to happen. I loved my little boy more than anything," Jones said in court. "I loved him, and I have to live with this everyday."
The child's father told police that he found the baby's mother, 30-year-old Samantha Whitney Jones, and their son in separate bedrooms around 6 a.m.
According to an affidavit, Jones told police she'd been too tired to make the baby a bottle when he awoke crying and instead breast fed him. A few hours later, the baby was pale and died at a hospital.
Jones told police she had been prescribed methadone because of a painkiller addiction. Jones was approved to take methadone, and the drug alone is not considered unsafe for breastfeeding mothers and their babies.
According to documents, Jones says she had been breastfeeding the baby but had switched to formula three days earlier, saying the infant wasn't getting enough milk from breastfeeding.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
