Left inset: Breanna Wright (Hamilton County Sheriff's Office). Right inset: Leylani Wright (GoFundMe). Background: Breanna Wright at her arraignment in Hamilton County, Ohio, for the death of her 7-month-old daughter (WKRC).
A 20-year-old Ohio mother says she went out for a smoke break with a friend while her 7-month-old daughter was in a "broken" adult bed "surrounded by pillows." When she returned, the child was allegedly suffering from "serious physical harm by blunt force" and unresponsive, with police saying she died less than two weeks later.
"Additionally, when officers were calling her to get in touch after the baby passed, she kept giving them different addresses, and they were kind of going around on a wild goose chase trying to locate her," a Hamilton County prosecutor alleged at Breanna Wright's arraignment on Wednesday for murder, according to local Fox affiliate WXIX.
Wright, who is from Cincinnati and has another child, allegedly knew that the bed her daughter Leylani Wright was left on was broken, causing it to "slant downward," after a previous incident also led to the baby being dropped on the floor, according to a report filed by Hamilton County Jobs and Family Services, which has taken away custody of Wright's other child.
"The [daughter] had also previously incurred injuries after falling off of the same adult bed, which Mother noted was broken," JFS wrote in its report, according to WXIX. "Mother did not reportedly seek medical care for the reported fall, and rather was waiting to speak to a pediatrician about it," JFS said.
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On Oct. 18, Cincinnati police were dispatched to Wright's home around 11:15 a.m. for a report of an unresponsive child. First responders rushed Leylani, who was suffering from cardiac arrest, to Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Wright allegedly admitted to staff that her daughter was placed on "an adult bed while she went outside for a short period."
Prosecutors said Wednesday that Wright was smoking with a friend for about 20 minutes when Leylani went into cardiac arrest, according to local CBS and CW affiliate WKRC. It's unclear what they were smoking. No one else was in the residence at the time, per cops.
"The child was surrounded by pillows, and had been placed on her stomach," according to the JFS report. Wright's daughter was allegedly seen by medical staff in July after she "lost significant weight," but the mom "became frustrated" and left the hospital with Leylani against medical advice, WXIX reports.
Leylani died from her injuries on Oct. 30. They included broken ribs, a broken femur and a lacerated bowel, according to prosecutors.
Wright turned herself in on Tuesday after being contacted by police. Her defense attorney told the court during her arraignment that she "adamantly denies hurting" her daughter.
"She had to grow up fast, she had a child when she was 12 years old," the lawyer said, according to local NBC affiliate WLWT, in reference to Wright's other kid.
The young mother was given a $1.5 million bond for her charges, which include felonious assault and child endangerment, in addition to murder. She was behind bars Wednesday at the Hamilton County Justice Center.
