Inset (left): Chantel Cunningham (LaGrange County Sheriff's Office). Inset (right): Greyson Cunningham (Frurip-May Funeral Home). Background: The Shipshewana, Ind., neighborhood where Chantel Cunningham lived with baby Greyson (Google Maps).
An Indiana mother was arrested months after her baby died, and police said her choice not to take seizure medication resulted in the 5-month-old's death.
Chantel Cunningham, 24, was charged with murder and neglect of a dependent resulting in death in connection with the death of her 5-month-old son, Greyson. According to court documents obtained by local CBS affiliate WSBT, Cunningham was alone with Greyson at their home in Shipshewana, Indiana, on April 6 when she suffered a fall after having a seizure. Police said Cunningham claimed that she dropped Greyson to the floor then fell on top of him, causing fatal injuries.
What police eventually found out was that Cunningham allegedly stopped taking medication to treat her seizures months before Greyson's death.
According to the court documents, Cunningham allegedly admitted to police that she had not taken the medication, which prevents her from having seizures, for four months. She told police that the seizures she had would cause her to fall. Police said Cunningham changed her story about what happened to her baby several times.
Authorities said Greyson died of multiple skull fractures.
Indiana State Police detectives who responded to the home shortly after Greyson's death believed the circumstances of the alleged fall warranted an investigation, which culminated in the charges brought against Cunningham.
On Wednesday, Cunningham was arrested and booked into the LaGrange County Jail. She remains in custody and was scheduled to make her initial appearance in court on Thursday. Her next court date was not immediately publicly available.
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