Inset: Jessie Lee Kittelson (Pierce County Jail). Background: The Pierce County Jail in Ellsworth, Wis. (Google Maps).
After authorities in Wisconsin found a 3-week-old boy pale with a dark substance around his mouth, investigators learned his mother had breastfed him after allegedly smoking meth days before, law enforcement said.
Jessie Lee Kittelson, 23, has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide, chronic neglect of a child resulting in death, and possession of methamphetamine, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
Taylor Jae Olson, 26, faces the same charges.
On March 14, the Pierce County Sheriff's Office was called about a report of a 3-week-old boy not breathing. A sergeant went to a residence in the town of Trimbelle, Wisconsin, which is located in the western part of the state, some 45 miles from Minneapolis.
The responding officer found the child pale and bluish with a dark substance around his mouth and nose, area NBC affiliate WEAU reported, citing a criminal complaint. The baby did not have a pulse and was not breathing.
Emergency responders arrived at the scene, too, but medical personnel pronounced the child dead.
Investigators interviewed Kittelson, and she allegedly said she used meth during her entire pregnancy, smoked it three days before, and she breastfed the boy. Olson reportedly said he obtained the meth he and Kittelson used, according to law enforcement.
The defendant said she "pumped and dumped" her breast milk for 48 hours and used milk she had stored when she was "clean" to feed her son, according to the sheriff's office. Kittelson allegedly appeared confused about how the boy could have been exposed to the meth, though she also searched how long meth stays in breast milk, the court document said.
An autopsy determined the baby died of methamphetamine toxicity, according to the area TV station.
Kittelson and Olson have an initial appearance in court scheduled for Sept. 2.