Friday, September 22, 2006

Baby Dies in Bucket of Mom's Vomit

Baby Dies in Bucket of Mom's Vomit

By ADAM GOLDMAN
The Associated Press Friday, September 22, 2006; 3:58 PM

NEW YORK -- A baby died after rolling off a bed and falling into a bucket of her teenage mother's vomit at a homeless shelter, police said.

The mother, Savarin DeJesus, 18, was charged with criminally negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of a child, and could get five years behind bars.

The young woman trembled and wept as she faced a judge Friday. "I loved my baby. I want you to know that," she said.

Authorities said DeJesus spent the evening of Sept. 15 downing gin and smoking cigarettes and then returned before dawn to the shelter where she lived with the 4-month old girl, Niah.

DeJesus threw up into a bucket of cleaning solution next to her bed, then passed out on the bed, clutching Niah's legs, authorities said.

When she awoke about 10 hours later, she found the baby with her head in the bucket, which contained about six inches of liquid, according to court papers.

The cause of death was either asphyxiation or drowning, the medical examiner's office said.
DeJesus "loved her baby and would never hurt her," said her lawyer, Kenneth Gilbert.

The city's Department of Homeless Services said it was trying to determine if the East Harlem shelter had a crib.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Whenever my mom when on a drunk binge, she would always tie me to the bed so I wouldn't fall into her vomit bucket. My mom loved me.

Anonymous said...

"Drink the drink that I have drunk"
-p.s. did I have hooves?
-If not, can I have hoofs?
-So sad, flophouses are the cornerstone of any good society.
Papa Zeus use to tell me,"You can always judge how well a country treats its' people by where they place the bucket of cleaning solution near you and your family when you sleep at a flophouse"
-p.s. Man, I must be wasted... for a minute there, I thought I had "Hoofs"(hooves)

Anonymous said...

my drunk mother politely vomited all over the toilet seat or in her own bathtub as he slovenly sloshed in it. much like your mother, tuckedandpuffy (is that you, matt?) my mother looooved me, too.