Woman who gad 2 infants die while co sleeping pleads to child endangering

 

CINCINNATI (ENQUIRER) - A woman who initially was charged with involuntary manslaughter after a second child of hers died while co-sleeping with her pleaded guilty to child endangering and was sentenced to probation, according to our partners at the Cincinnati Enquirer.

On June 22, 2022, Brooke Hunter woke up to her 5-week-old son not breathing in bed with her. According to prosecutors, Hunter, 24, had put the baby in the bed with her and the baby’s father.

It is extremely rare for a co-sleeping death to result in criminal charges. But the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office pursued charges against Hunter because in 2021 another of Hunter’s children died as a result of co-sleeping. That baby was 6 weeks old.

A police detective and others had warned Hunter not to sleep in bed with a baby, court documents say.

In Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Tuesday, Judge Terry Nestor sentenced Hunter, of Winton Hills, to three years of probation. Nestor also ordered Hunter to complete any parenting classes or other services recommended by Job and Family Services.

Assistant Prosecutor Stacy Lefton said it was never her office’s goal to put Hunter behind bars. Prosecutors dropped the manslaughter charge as part of the plea.

“We don’t think she is a threat to society,” Lefton said. “It’s more that she was a threat to her children.”

Lefton said she hopes that through parenting classes and other services, Hunter will “have the tools” to make the right decisions in the future.

When the hearing was over, Hunter walked to the back of the courtroom, where a family member sat on a bench. She sat in the woman’s lap, wrapped her arms around the woman and began to cry.