After being found guilty of neglecting her 4-month-old daughter and getting 16 years in prison, T. Cavanaugh, a 34-year-old mother from Indiana, has been punished.
Cavanaugh admitted to neglecting a dependent person, which caused major bodily harm, on September 3, 2024. This is a Level 3 felony. The charge came from the fact that she used drugs and then put her baby in dangerous sleeping situations, like sharing a bed while she was high.
Police were called to Cavanaugh’s house on June 6, 2016, because someone had reported an unconscious baby. When the police arrived, they saw Cavanaugh on her knees on the living room floor next to her baby, who was not moving.
She was sobbing uncontrollably and trying to do CPR. While emergency medical services were on their way, officers took over CPR. The child was taken to the hospital right away. The baby was still being tried to save its life, but at 10:11 a.m., it was officially declared dead.
Inside the house, police smelled burnt marijuana and saw that Cavanaugh seemed drunk because she was wobbly on her feet, spoke slurredly, and had trouble coordinating her movements.
Cavanaugh told the police that she had gotten up earlier to breastfeed her daughter and then fallen asleep with the baby next to her. She woke up to find her child lying next to her with their backs to her.
A quick investigation at the spot turned up some troubling information. “I know what happened, I shouldn’t have taken my Norco,” Cavanaugh told a family friend. The Department of Child Services did a drug test on the person’s spit and found Hydrocodone, Diazepam, Nordiazepam, and Oxycodone.
Hydrocodone and Nordiazepam were found in her system after a valid blood draw. During the search of the home, many prescription drugs were found, including empty bottles and pills that did not have a valid prescription.
Investigators found that Cavanaugh had a past of sleeping with her kids even though child welfare officials had warned her and tried to stop her.
A case manager from the Department of kid Services found Cavanaugh sleeping with her 2-month-old kid in January 2015. She said she “really feels bad” about sharing a bed, but she “gets why it’s risky.” At that time, a drug test showed that she had Xanax, marijuana, and cocaine in her system.
The child was then taken away from her care. When her daughter was born in February 2016, the hospital staff taught her a lot about how to sleep safely. Cavanaugh signed papers saying she knew the risks of co-sleeping, but staff still found her sleeping with the baby in her hospital bed, which led to more warnings.
Cavanaugh was given a 16-year sentence by Judge D. Mawhorr on September 18, 2024. He was to serve 14 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections and 2 years would be suspended while he was on supervised probation.
She got credit for time already served, so she still has about nine years to go on her term. Cavanaugh said she was a “super mom” during the sentence hearing. This claim was quickly disputed by Judge Mawhorr, who said, “I am not so sure about that.”
Attorney for the prosecution E. Hoffman said this about the case: “This case is a prime example of a needless death of an infant due to unsafe sleep practices.”
Parents and other adults who watch kids must follow the ABCs of safe sleep. To keep babies safe, they should always sleep alone in a crib on their backs. Some people think that sleeping in an adult bed with your baby or doing other risky things to sleep is not child neglect; however, it is.
Cavanaugh was first charged in July 2017, but he wasn’t locked up the whole time he was waiting for his trial. After avoiding her sentencing hearing in September 2020, she got out on bail and was seen running at one time. She was caught again and stayed in jail until she entered her plea.
This terrible case shows how important it is to make sure babies sleep safely and how terrible the results can be if you don’t. The government is still telling parents and other workers to strictly follow the rules to stop these heartbreaking situations from happening.