Indiana mother Raeleigh Phillips charged with murdering nine-day-old baby by leaving him in car seat for 13 hours: Infant died from asphyxia after not being able to sit up properly to breathe

An Indiana woman is facing charges in connection to the death of her nine-day-old baby boy after she left him in a car seat for 13 hours, causing him to asphyxiate.

Raeleigh Phillips, 22, was charged with reckless homicide and neglect of a dependent, two felonies, in connection to the death of her son, Emmett.

Police found the little boy unconscious and unresponsive in a Lawrenceburg apartment complex on March 3. He was taken to St. Elizabeth Dearborn hospital and declared deceased.

An investigation revealed that the infant had been 'deceased for an extended period of time' before first responders arrived, according to Lynn Deddens, prosecuting attorney for the 7th Judicial Circuit.

Following an autopsy, his cause of death was determined as positional asphyxia, meaning the infant's body was positioned in a way that prevented his breathing.

Raeleigh Phillips, 22, was charged with reckless homicide and neglect of a dependent in connection to the death of her nine-day-old son, Emmett

Phillips called 911 after she woke up from a nap and found her son unresponsive. First responders transported the boy from Avery Apartments in Lawrenceburg to a nearby hospital, but he was pronounced deceased

According to Prosecutor Lynn Deddens, Phillips had left the infant strapped in a car seat for around 13 hours. His cause of death was determined as positional asphyxia

Further investigation revealed that Emmett had been in the care of his mother, and that Phillips had left the infant strapped in a car seat for around 13 hours. 

Phillips told police that the baby was asleep in the car seat when she arrived home, so she took him inside and let him continue to sleep while she took a nap.

When she woke up, she discovered that her son was 'cold, blue, and limp,' according to Deddens. When she realized that he wasn't breathing, she called 911. 

The infant had not been fed in some fourteen hours and was wearing a soiled diaper, prosecutors said.

Police issued an arrest warrant for Phillips on April 9 and took her into custody that afternoon.

At an initial hearing before Judge Sally McLaughlin on Wednesday, her bond was set at $200,000 surety in addition to $7,500 cash.

Records show Phillips was convicted of neglect of a dependent in a different case in 2022.