Lakeville woman suspected of accidentally smothering her infant grandson

"I've been treated unfairly"? WTF?! Lets see: 45 year old woman taking antidepressants, drinking martinis and living in a trailer park. If you hadn't KILLED your child you would have been on TV soon on the Jerry Springer show...Too bad MN doesn't have the death penalty!

Give me a break...

I wasn't aware that PWT drank martinis. I thought they stuck to beer or stump liquor...maybe the martini was in a mason jar...

My God! Almost everyone knows you don't fall asleep with an infant laying at your side. Even if there are no meds or alcohol involved - this tragic event of suffocating an infant can happen and has happened. When I brought my daughter home years ago that was one of the main things I remember being warned about by the hospital. Laying an infant in a crib with a propped up bottle would have been safer - although I wouldn't do that either. This was pure negligence. This woman should never have been taking care of a baby.

A tragedy. Poor child. Mixing anti-depressants and alcohol is, obviously, a recipe for disaster. My guess is she's not the most diligent person on the planet, but to live with this heartache will be horrible for her. Perhaps, she can learn to live differently.

She drank two martinis between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Then blew a 0.12 2.75 hours later???? Absolute BS.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations include the following for safe sleep for infants:
1. Always place baby on his or her back to sleep, for both naps and at night.
2. Place baby on a firm sleep surface such as on a safety-approved crib mattress, covered by a fitted sheet.
3. Keep soft objects, toys and loose bedding out of the baby’s sleep area.
4. Do not allow smoking around baby.
5. Keep baby’s sleep area close to but separate from where you and others sleep.
6. Think about using a clean pacifier when placing baby down to sleep.
7. Do not let baby overheat during sleep.
8. Avoid commercial products that claim to reduce the risk of SIDS.
9. Do not use home breathing monitors to reduce the risk of SIDS. They are not effective for that purpose. Also, avoid medically prescribed apnea monitors, which have not been shown to reduce the risk of SIDS.
10. Reduce the chance that flat spots may develop on the back side of your baby’s head; provide tummy time when baby is awake.

My condolences to all of those who were involved in this tragedy.

Nope wrote:

She drank two martinis between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Then blew a 0.12 2.75 hours later???? Absolute BS.

That's exactly what I thought, too! No way she just had two.....unless they were really really big!

A 0.12 after two hours since you last drink. Either those were some pretty strong Martini's or she had a bit more to drink that two Martini's.

I'm thinking she passed out!!

Only had two. Cop's have never heard that one before.

Poor excuse for flesh. If you can't handle your own life and need drugs to get by why on earth are you watching someone else.

Treated unfairly my a$$.

Are you people all blind? In the article there are multiple references to the "large number of people who do bed-share". But somehow, while doing it successfully and not injuring their child, they are the ones considered wrong for doing so. There are millions of parents who have not hurt their child while bed-sharing. The people who do it wrong (i.e. drunk, not the immediate caregiver, couches, etc) are the ones who have made a mistake. In no other issue in the world are the failures of something used as the representative sample of that issue. With that logic...anyone who fails to buckle their child into a car seat shows that parents show that car travel is no longer "safe" for any children...because some idiot parent gets to represent all of us...right? To be fair, interview parents who have not harmed their child. So, the "committed" mothers who don't bed-share but chose to isolate their child for sleep are somehow the good mothers? Anyone who believes that "plastic parenting" is best idea...just go out and buy more plastic that doctors demand you need to raise your child...idiots. It's called common sense and yes, it always comes before systematic advice, unless of course you are sheep.

SSRI Stories Note: The Physicians Desk Reference states that antidepressants can cause a craving for alcohol and alcohol abuse. Also, the liver cannot metabolize the antidepressant and the alcohol simultaneously, thus leading to higher levels of both alcohol and the antidepressant in the human body.

The Strib account is more complete. Grandma is concerned only with avoiding responsibility, she shows no remorse whatsoever.

"it's no respect for me" Quick advise, no one is going to respect you ever again because you got drunk and killed a baby.

"it's no respect for me"

You have to earn respect, you stupid drunken hag.

While I agree this was a tragic accident the woman knowingly mixed her medicine with alcohol when it was indicated not to. So, she is culpable in some fashion.

Two martinis, slept it off for three hours, then blew a .12 sometime after that.

Hmm? Yeah, I'd say alcohol was a bit of a factor in this death.

I can't believe this woman is playing the victim. Yes, you made a "mistake," in much the same way as a drunk driver who crashed into another vehicle killing the other driver made a "mistake." And now, just like an irresponsible drunk driver, you will have to deal with the consequences of your "mistake."

To those of you who don't think that she shows remorse you need to watch the interview she gave to channel 4 news yesterday. She clearly does, and it was an accident, this woman loved her grandchild and clearly had no intention of harming him. Yes we all know the dangers of bed-sharing and clearly mixing anitdepressants, alcohol and babysitting was not smart, and she did make a mistake- I still believe she should be shown some sympathy. This was a tragic, unintentional accident that she will live with forever. Some of your comments show intolerable amounts of stereotypical thinking and ignorance.

APPALLED? Because the medias in her face. We didnt tell her to drink while taking prescription drugs! And 2 martinis does not give you a 0.12 bac...I am appalled that she expects sympathy...
REALLY Lady? you smotherd an innocent baby. I am sorry for the baby.. and for his parent's. I could not even imagine losing my child. let alone to IGNORANCE...
I hope you get what you deserve.