Background: The 200 block of Lee Road in Phenix City, Alabama (Google Maps). Inset: Mireira Lucero (Lee County Jail).
An Alabama mother tortured and tried to "smother" her 4-month-old daughter because she wouldn't stop crying, authorities say.
Mireira Lucero, 28, has been charged with attempted murder and torture and willful abuse of a child, the Lee County Sheriff's Office announced. As of Tuesday, she was being held in the Lee County Detention Center on an $85,000 bond.
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On Monday, around the time the clock struck midnight, Lucero was at a home on the 200 block of Lee Road in Phenix City, Alabama. According to deputies, "several" people said the mother was "trying to suffocate her baby." They also alleged that she committed other violent acts against the infant.
"Witnesses also stated that they observed Lucero choke and shake the baby to get her to stop crying," according to authorities, who received a 911 call at about 12:38 a.m. that the woman was "attempting to smother" her daughter.
In addition to allegedly holding her baby high and shaking her, the suspect also placed blankets and pillows on top of the baby and grabbed the child by the throat, according to court documents obtained by local CBS affiliate WRBL.
Emergency responders arrived at the home and brought the infant to an area hospital. "At the time of transport, the baby was alert and seemed to be in good health," the sheriff's office said. Law enforcement also responded, and they arrested Lucero and placed her in the town's jail.
Phenix City is located in eastern Alabama, less than a mile away from the Georgia border.