Parents have been charged over the death of their one-year-old child, who was allegedly given Fireball whisky as “medicine”.
On February 22, police were contacted about a “pulseless, non-breathing child” at a home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
When emergency services arrived at the home, Kevin McCall, 30, and Christina Davis, 23, were standing outside holding the baby.
The one-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.
Law and Crime reported that Ms Davis told police that she finished work around 2pm.
She returned home to find her eldest daughter, aged six, standing in the corner as punishment for stealing the TV remote control.
Mr McCall told police he had “whooped” the child.
Ms Davis reportedly told police that she found her youngest daughter “stiff” with her eyes rolling back into her head and asked Mr McCall to contact the police.
He admitted that he had not checked on the one-year-old while Ms Davis was at work.
Police said the baby was “covered in urine and faeces”.
The other child told detectives that she was often tasked with babysitting her younger sister.
Ms Davis said she and Mr McCall left the children alone in the house “at least once or twice a week”, despite acknowledging that it was “wrong”.
Mr McCall said they had been left home alone “at least 25 times in the past six to seven months”.
The day before the baby died, the six-year-old said she saw her mother making a bottle for the baby using “medicine” which would make the baby “pass out”.
The “medicine” was allegedly a 50 millilitre bottle of Fireball whisky.
“I don’t think it is medicine,” the child reportedly told detectives.
An empty Fireball bottle was found in the house.
When asked, Ms Davis denied giving her baby alcohol and said that the information provided to police by her daughter “was a lie”.
Mr McCall and Ms Davis were charged with two counts of chronic neglect of a child.
They remain in custody and are due to appear in court on May 29.
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