Ohio mom wanted by cops as 6-week-old baby dies due to 'co-sleeping' year after her first child died similarly
Update: Cincinnati Crime Stoppers reveal that Cincinnati woman, Brooke Hunter, accused in the co-sleeping death of her 6-week-old baby is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and endangering children.
Hunter was last known to live in Avondale, according to Crime Stoppers. They say she has been wanted by police since her arrest on September 29.
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CINCINNATI, OHIO: A Cincinnati woman who allegedly lost her second child as a result of co-sleeping has been charged by a grand jury, according to the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office. On June 22, Brooke Hunter's infant died from co-sleeping, just 12 months after her first child also perished from the same cause. Hunter was informed about the dangers of co-sleeping after the death of her first child, said assistant prosecutor Amy Clausing.
On Wednesday, September 15, Hunter was charged with involuntary manslaughter and endangering children and an arrest warrant has been issued, according to WCPO Channel 9. Co-sleeping, also known as bed-sharing, is when a parent sleeps in close proximity to their child—often in the same bed, but also on a couch or chair.
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Cincinnati Children's Hospital advises parents not to share a bed with their children or take naps while holding a baby. "The safest place for your baby to sleep is in the room where you sleep, but not in your bed," the hospital's website stated. The death of Hunter's second child is regarded as a homicide, according to the prosecution, because she had been warned about the risks of co-sleeping.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents avoid sharing a bed with a child who is 6 months old or younger and instead place the child in the same room as them on a different surface. According to the AAP, 3,500 infants die in the United States each year from sleep-related causes, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
In a similar incident that took place in 2020, the child of an anti-vaxxer died due to suffocation and not due to injections as the mother had earlier claimed. Six-month-old Evee Clobes died after her mother Catelin Clobes, 30, took her for her six-month vaccinations on March 1. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death of the baby whose face was used in anti-vax campaigns, as asphyxiation due to co-sleeping with her mother.
According to NBC News, Catelin had spent February 28 with her daughter and went to sleep on their queen-size bed after breastfeeding her and having a whiskey cocktail afterward. When the mother woke up, her infant wouldn't "stir" and was "cold to touch". "This can't be real," Catelin said, according to the transcript, "This is because she was sleeping with me." The report states that the investigator on the case found marks on the baby's face that could have come from a blanket. "Areas of her nose, chest, arms, and legs were discolored and pooled with blood, indicating Evee had been face-down for some time," the report said.