The three infant deaths were reported within a seven-day span, an “incredibly surprising” number for a week, Byron said.
The deaths of the three babies – ages ranging from just a few weeks old to four months old – occurred between Sept. 30 and Oct. 7.
Two of the deaths occurred after parents fed the babies, put the baby down for bed and later woke up to the child not breathing, according to SPD incident reports.
A Mason Street resident reported on Sept 30 to police that her baby was “cold to the touch.” A relative of the baby had woken up to feed the child before she had to leave for school, according to an incident report.
Police also responded to West High Street on Oct. 6, where a parent told them that she placed her baby into a play pen to sleep while the mother took a nap. The mother was awoken hours later to her boyfriend telling her the baby wasn’t breathing.
On Oct. 7, a mother on Delta Road reported to police that her child wasn’t breathing after being fed and put down for a nap.
“My baby is dead,” a 911 caller told dispatchers on Oct. 7, according to call records. “He’s not breathing.”
The babies and their deaths were not related to one another, Byron said.
Clark County Coroner Susan Brown said her office is also investigating the deaths. She said autopsies for the infants have not been finalized.
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