Absolutely not...she is a murderer!

No, that was neglect. Although I would think the horror of that would be (or SHOULD be) punishment enough I feel there should be some legal action. If only to protect against something similar happening again. I used to live with a kid (great little guy) and I have had my share of drug and alcohol issues but NEVER EVER where his safety was concerned.

It's not murder. Murder implies intent. It's criminal negligence, which, of course, can have just as serious consequences. But don't label it as murder if it isn't.

Is her name Britney? There was a similar case in Australia. However, mom was simply exhausted and fell asleep with her baby in her arms and smothered him in the process. Irresponsible, yes. Intentional, no. The authorities would, I imagine, would be hard pressed to win a conviction for murder. Some form of charges should be filed, I am not a lawyer so I couldn't say what charges. If she has other children or has more children, perhaps the charge would raise a red flag and another tragedy could be averted. Very sad.

Oh how horrible! I would think she would at least be charged with neglect. And even though she didn't mean to kill her kid isn't there a charge like manslaughter that could be brought about? Unbelievable!

thats horrible. ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

MY God!!! its not murder, but i sure feeling like hitting the "mother"

She should be charged with something. She shouldn't have even brought and 11 month old baby to a party with drugs and alcohol in the first place. She could've at least hired a babysitter. She should be put in jail for neglecting her child!

wow...i can't even imagine what the father would do, but what she must be going thru...and to even put herself and her baby's life in that situation, she should be jailed for SOMETHING, criminal negligence, involuntary manslaughter, those sound like things they can throw at the ignorant fool...

No, I don't agree with her not being charged. While I am sure that the results were not even close to what she intended, I do believe she was very irresponsible. That irresponsibility has resulted in the death of a perfectly innocent life.I think she should be charged with negligent homicide. I am glad you call her an ex friend, and not a current one. That shows good judgement on your part, as those are not the type of friends anyone should have!

I think she should have been charged with either criminally negligent homicide or at least involuntary manslaughter.

Agree? Are you kidding? NO WAY. Charges of some kind should have been filed - there are so many things wrong with that whole scenario on so many levels! Unfortunately, and sadly, nothing will bring the child back. But I do believe the punishment should be so severe that no one will ever consider repeating such behavior if they know what will be in store for them. Being a parent myself, living with the guilt would be devastating and I know I could never forgive myself for being so selfish and irresponsible. Having said that, guilt alone is not punishment enough as far as I'm concerned. If you bring a child into this world then be responsible for him/her......I'm wondering now why charges weren't pressed.....that's interesting.

Sounds an awful lot like negligent or even reckless homicide to me.

That is child endangerment and carries a stiff penalty where I live. For her not to be charged was very remiss of the District Attorney in your state! I would love to just throttle the mother!

Speaking strictly from an "outside looking in" perspective, which is clearly all anyone HERE can do, I'm not sure which is worse - the death caused by a mother's (and I use the term loosely) neglect, or the seeming ease with which some people here have rushed to judgement. The "lynch-mob" mentality displayed in some of the previous answers is MOST disturbing indeed, and playing "what if" at this point serves NO ONE well. What's done is done, and NOTHING can change that. The REAL question here should be, what, if anything, can be done to make this horrific situation a little better for the people who are left behind to deal with it? NOBODY has the power to change the past, and only those with wisdom and courage can make the future better. This is a VERY personal, and I'm sure VERY complicated situation, far more so than can be described in a few sentences, and it's hard to imagine the future grief that this family will be going through as a result of this UNINTENTIONAL tragedy. With that said, there is absolutely NOTHING to be gained from involving a woman obviously so ill-equipped for the realities of adulthood and parenting in an grossly over-crowded and under-funded legal system (which is probably part of the reason why no charges were filed in the first place). She will live with the guilt and pain of this negligence for the rest of her natural life. Every birthday, every holiday, every time she sees another mother and child, the terrible results of the choices she made that night will haunt her. Incarceration will NOT rehabilitate her or bring her baby back! Instead, she will be subject to the influence of REAL criminals, many of whom having committed far more heinous acts, with NO chance whatsoever of redeeming herself. Clearly a NO-WIN situation for ALL parties concerned. Butterfly, if you really are, or have ever been (?) a TRUE "friend" to this woman, DO NOT turn your back on her. If this were MY "friend", I'd be extremely concerned about the very real possibility of her committing suicide once the reality of this whole incident settles into her heart and soul. Based on some of your subsequent comments on this thread, it's painfully obvious that your "ex-friend" is hanging out with a VERY bad crowd. Perhaps if she felt she had other social options, this might not have happened. FORGIVE, but do NOT forget her horrible mistake, and do everything within your power to help her get her misspent life back on track. Yes, her baby is dead, but I can only hope it's still not too late for her. If she realizes she has a few DECENT friends to turn to, maybe she'll abandon the IDIOTS (an understatement to be sure) that were presumably complicit in the circumstances leading up to the death of a child she clearly wasn't ready to parent anyway. In my experience, from even the most tragic of accidents (which this surely was), something good can be salvaged. In this case, it would be the rest of the life of your "friend". My heart aches for her. PEACE. >>> Roadie Ric

If she was in NY, She would be charged with reckless endangerment, endagering the welfare of a child and possibly manslaught depending how good the prosecuter is.

What does the father of this baby think about this? If I was the dad I would be pushing for charges big time.

Charges could have and should have been filed. In my home state people have been charged with a variety of serious charges...not including murder...for their leaving their children unattended in a hot car or a tub full of water. That the parent's didn't actively "do" something to cause the death in no way excuses them for not actively doing something and taking "reasonable care" to prevent the death. Death by "didn't give enough of a shit" isn't "accidental"

WHAT? where was this, and when did it happen. what story did she tell the cops and did they know about the party? hard to believe sh'es not in jail...

Sort of reminds me of that scene in Trainspotting (the drugs and neglect part of this does, anyhow). I suppose the Mother was devastated when she sobered up, but, I would think she should have gone to jail for a while, yeah.

I know of a girl who took her very young baby to the bar, and left it in the carseat in the middle of winter(for several hours). She left the car off, but supposedly went out to check on it occasionally. By the time she was done drinking at the bar, the infant was dead. as far as I know no charges were filed there. She goes on as if nothing happened, too. How a person and a family can live with that in that manner, is beyond me. Charges of at least negligence, should have been filed. Just because the "mother" feels bad, doesn't mean they shouldn't have to be punished for their actions. That was a life that they took, through their own stupidity.

I don't think any one here is showing a lynch-mob mentality. I agree this girl needs help, big time. But it doesn't excuse what she did. Wouldn't you think most criminals, if not all, need help and yet, we cannot just excuse crimes without a reason to excuse. For example, if there were enough real evidence to show that for some reason she didn't know what she was doing, and that she is devastated over the death of her baby, then possibly some rehab would be in order. But here is the part I can't get past: she knew what she was doing when she took the baby to the party, THEN she got very high and drunk, according to the report we were given. I think her glib attitude since the death may be cover up, to hide from herself the anguish she should be feeling. But I also think it is very possible she is still not acknowledging the truth. The really horrible part of this is that the father tried to get custody and was ignored. This is similar to many cases in Philadelphia, where children who are in good care with loving families are targeted by human services while children in clear danger slip thru the cracks until they wind up on the front page of the news. These stupid laws need to be changed. I hope this father pursues a case against the authorities.

For her own safety, and everyone's benefit, she needs to be locked up. How could she have any friends at all, at this point? She's a walking, talking, lethal accident waiting to happen. Dry out behind bars, where it's safe and warm, and maybe develop some basic common sense or human competency after a few years. It was technically not "murder" because the law requires proof of intent, that she intended to kill. But it certainly sounds like "manslaughter" which also gets serious jail time. If she has any financial assets at all, the husband should also file civil charges, to claim all her property and some of her future earnings. Divorce judges are highly prejudiced against men, so I think he'd have better results in civil court. The father must be going absolutely insane right now! I hope he has some good friends around him, to keep him from doing anything irrational. That is so deliberately dangerous behavior, and after such clear warnings!, I hope she gets the maximum.

No, I absolutely do not agree. I think that's total and absolute bullshit, and she should get 1st degree manslaughter, right off the bat. What a horrible and terrible thing to do. I feel so bad for what that poor child had to go through, and it's really sad to say that I'm glad the baby doesn't have to go through it anymore, though I wish it had been done in a better way. That's really, really, sad. :(

I hope that father pursues an investigation and that your ex-friend gets help, too.

I believe charges should be pressed for manslaughter--recklessly causing the death of another, and reckless endangerment. There is a substantial risk that a baby will be injured or suffocated by the body of an adult who passes out on top of a baby, and this mother unjustifably disregarded that risk when she became voluntarily intoxicated (high on drugs and alcohol) and then fell asleep with the baby on the couch. She is guilty of recklessly causing the death of that baby. She also disregarded a substantial risk of harm to the baby when she chose to take the baby to a party where she knew drugs and alcohol would be used, and when she voluntarily ingested drugs and alcohol to the point of causing herself to be unable to care for the baby. The minute she entered that party with that baby and started to get high, she was guilty of recklessly endangering that baby's welfare.

What's her name and address?

I cannot fucking believe that someone like that would legally be able to have a child. Someone that stupid deserves to be thrown in prison for the rest of their miserable life. Not only is it irresponsible for a parent to be in those situations by themselves, but for them to bring their child there is just beyond me. I think that anyone that dumb needs to be wiped off of the face of the earth for doing something so idiotic. What the hell could be going through your mind at the time to even make you think that taking your child to something like that would be a good idea. There must have been someone or somewhere where that baby could have been taken to have been cared for. Where the hell was the father in this situation, and how could he possibly let that happen to his son or daughter. It just makes me wish that i wasnt alive in these times to have to hear about such dumb people and their completely stupid choices. I just cant believe that she was not charged what so ever for even manslaughter, sorry for the profanity, but i feel so strongly about it that i just had to use it.

That is SICK and she should be in prison for the rest of her life!! That makes me so mad!!! I would like to run into her in a dark alley sometime!! The people who know what happened to that helpless child aren't doing anything, they are not telling the police what happened? Have her drug tested...she should be punished!!!! She is SICK!!!!

If you have first hand information that is what actually happened, did you tell this to the police? This person needs to be arrested for at least the charge of negligent homocide. If your information is correct, you are witholding information connected to a homocide, not an accidental death.

These apparently aren't the same story, but the same "problem" - http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080209/LOCAL/802090465/1006/LOCAL http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/66205_children12.shtml I think in both cases, as in yours, the mother should be charged, at the VERY least with neglegent homicide. In the latter of the two I listed, above, the CPS caseworker should be, too! So NO... I don't agree. The "grieving mother" defense doesn't help mothers whose boyfriends kill the babies accidentally (or on purpose). Why should THESE women get off? And despite what your "friends" (and I use that term loosely) believe, YOU are correct.

That's a pretty classic case of either criminally negligent homicide or manslaughter. Was the district attorney involved or did it just happen to be that nobody found out?

In all seriousness, did this really happen? If so, it would have been in the newspaper, right? do you have a link?

No she should go to prison.

manslaughter

she sould do hard time, that baby had no chance with a mother like her, i hope she fries. people like her shoulnt have the privlage of having kids. she should be smoutherd like she did her baby

That is terrible, that poor baby... She should definitely be charged, she brought that baby to this world and that baby was her responisibility!!