Inset: Amirah E. Moodie (Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office). Background: The apartment complex where Moodie's 1-year-old son died late last year (Google Maps).
A 25-year-old mother in Indiana is accused of leaving her 1-year-old son for hours in an unsafe sleeping environment, where he suffocated and died. Amirah Eziah Moodie was taken into custody last week and charged with one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in death following the death of young Isais Pascual-Hernandez, records show.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, Evansville Police Department officers and emergency medical personnel responded to a call at an apartment complex in the 1600 block of Cass Court regarding a "medical emergency" at 4:22 p.m. on Nov. 14, 2025. The caller, identified as Moodie, told the dispatcher that she was "unable to wake up her 15-month-old child," saying "he was stiff."
Upon arrival, first responders found the boy on the floor near the entryway and attempted lifesaving measures, "but he was beyond help," police wrote. Officers detained Moodie and the victim's father and transported them to police headquarters for questioning.
Police described the home as "extremely messy" with food, trash, and cat feces scattered across the floor.
In Isais' bedroom, there was a Pack 'n Play crib in the middle of the room with "an oversized mattress placed inside."
"The mattress went from one end of the Pack 'n Play stretching across to the other end," the affidavit states. "The excess was folded and wedged against the side of the Pack 'n Play making an L-shape. An oversized waterproof sheet was located inside the Pack 'n Play and collected. The sheet was lined with an impermeable rubber-type backing. The sheet was unsafe and created a suffocation hazard."
Under questioning, Moodie told investigators she put Isais down at about 6 p.m. the previous night, saying he slept through the night and woke up at about 6 a.m. that morning. The boy's father left for work shortly after and Moodie said she also woke up at 6 a.m. and took a THC gummy because she was "stressed about finances."
She described Isais as being "more energetic lately" and constantly "getting into things." But that morning, she said he appeared tired, so she put her son into the Pack 'n Play with a bottle at about 9 a.m., adding that "he did not fight the nap." She then went to her room and was in and out of sleep for several hours.
Isais' father came home from work at 2 p.m. and fell asleep in the bedroom. Moodie said the boy was still in bed, but she didn't think anything of it because sometimes he sleeps "longer than expected." Moodie got out of bed between 3 and 4 p.m. and went to check on her son about seven hours after putting him down for the nap and found him motionless.
"[Moodie] saw the black sheet was wrapped around his head a few times (two or three) and [Moodie] struggled to unwrap his head. [Moodie] stated Isais had marks on his neck and his lips were blue," the affidavit states. "[Moodie] stated the fitted sheet is bigger than the mattress so she tries to tuck in but he does pull it off often."
An autopsy determined Isais' cause of death to be "asphyxia due to suffocation by bedding (unsafe sleep), with possible contribution by ligature strangulation."
Moodie is currently being held in the Vanderburgh County Jail without bond, records show. She made her initial appearance in court on Monday morning and is scheduled to appear again on March 26.
Follow Law&Crime:
Comments