By Joe Johnson
For the second time in less than a week
an infant has died while sleeping at home with his mother.
A 3-month-old boy reportedly died on May 17 while his mother slept with him in bed at their home on the west side of Athens.
His death happened six days after another infant died under similar circumstances in the North Valley section of northwest Athens-Clarke County, on May 11.
The baby boy’s 31-year-old mother called 911 at around 2 a.m. to report that he wasn’t breathing. According to police, she said that upon being wakened by the child’s twin brother crying, she noticed that he was cold to the touch, and there was blood on his onesie and foam in his mouth.
An officer who responded to the scene determined that the infant had no pulse. He was transported to the hospital and declared dead.
The previous incident, in North Valley, was reported by a 25-year-old woman who called 911 at 2:32 p.m. on May 11 to report that her infant son wasn’t breathing, according to police.
When officers arrived, the child had already been transported by ambulance to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The mother explained to police that she had gone to sleep on a couch, with the baby in her arm and facing away from the couch’s back cushion. Upon waking she saw blood on the child’s face and realized that he wasn’t breathing.
The woman didn’t know how long she was asleep, and the only other person home at the time was her 7-year-old nephew.
Autopsies to determine the causes of death for both infants were conducted at the State Crime Lab, according to Athens-Clarke County Coroner Sonny Wilson, who said the results might not be known for several months.