Mother Charged in Infant’s Death

Mother Charged in Infant’s Death


MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A Tunica County woman is in jail after being charged with murdering her 11-month old baby while it was being treated at a Memphis hospital.

Police say she admitted to giving the baby her methadone pills, commonly used to treat people addicted to drugs.

On October 21st, after a doctor in Mississippi became concerned about the baby's condition, she was sent to her to Le bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis, where she tested positive for Methadone.

The baby appeared to be getting better.

Two additional tests, between then and November 2nd were negative for methadone.

But the baby died, November 3rd. Another drug screen came back positive for methadone. Police say, the only person with access to the baby, was her mother.
They say she was responsible for giving her the drug.

30-year old Angela Davis Murphree is now charged with first degree murder and aggravated child abuse.

According to an affidavit, Murphree admitted to Memphis police that she crushed her methadone pills and put them in her baby's food. The report didn't say why.

The Medical Examiner ruled the baby's death was a homicide, as a result of complications from the toxic effects of methadone.

Cpt. Cedric Davis with the Tunica County Sheriff's Office says, "it appears something happened in the hospital."

While the homicide case is in Memphis, Murphree is from Tunica.

Captain Davis says they weren't notified of an investigation by the Mississippi Department of Human Services, until the day the baby died. That was almost 2 weeks after she was admitted to the hospital with methadone in her system.

Cpt. Davis says, "We immediately sent investigators to Le Bohneur upon our investigators arrival, they announced the child died while in intensive care there."

Multiple sources say the Mississippi Department of Human Services received multiple complaints about the mother, starting around the time she had the baby. But the Tunica County Sheriff's Office says this was the first time DHS notified them of an investigation. As of airtime our call and an email to DHS had not been returned.
Cpt Davis says, "We’re doing all we can along with MPD to determine what happened."

A spokesperson for Le Bohneur Children's Hospital says police asked them not to discuss the case.

article comes from MYFOX Memphis and the original link is

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/local/120310-mother-charged-in-infant%E2%80%99s-death

Oh geeze! There sure is some sick people out there that would do that to a poor, helpless baby! Awful! There would have been plenty of people that can't have babies that would have loved to adopt that child. Selfish mom. She needs to go to jail for a long time. That lady has some major issues makin' her baby sick...and again giving methadone a bad name.