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Alyssa Wehmeyer (Scott County Sheriff’s Office).
A Missouri mom was accused of leaving her 1-year-old baby alone for hours at a time and neglected to feed the child for 43 hours, reportedly because she “had a migraine.”
According to the Missouri Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control, Alyssa Wehmeyer, 21, was investigated following the “suspicious” death of her 1-year-old on Feb. 28. In a press release, police said that the baby had shown signs of “severe malnutrition and neglect, resulting in the child’s death.” Further details in the probable cause affidavit revealed that Wehmeyer allegedly last fed her baby on Feb. 26.
The affidavit stated that the baby was found deceased on Feb. 28 and an autopsy was conducted. The cause of death was determined to be dehydration, and there was reportedly “very little evidence of food in the stomach.” Wehmeyer was taken into custody by police and read her rights, after which she was interviewed.
Wehmeyer allegedly told police that she had last fed her baby on Feb. 26 between 5 and 6 p.m. — approximately 36 hours before it was estimated that the baby died. The following day, 24 hours after the last time she fed the baby, she put the child to bed at about 6:30 p.m. after a diaper change. Police asked Wehmeyer about the “severe blisters” found on the baby, a symptom of diaper rash, and she informed police that she had last changed the baby’s diaper “nearly 19 hours” before the child’s estimated time of death.
At around 2 a.m. on the morning of Feb. 28, Wehmeyer heard the baby crying, attended to the baby for about 30 to 40 minutes, then put the baby back to bed. At around 1 p.m. that day, Wehmeyer told police that the baby wasn’t breathing and the toddler’s lips were blue. She told police that she should have taken the baby to the doctor on Feb. 27, but she “had a migraine” and took a nap.
In the arrest warrant, prosecutors accused Wehmeyer of neglecting the baby “for approximately 43 hours.”
Wehmeyer was arrested and charged with abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death. She is being held at Scott County Jail on $100,000 cash bond. Her first court appearance is scheduled for March 6.
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