Inset: Natricia Ann Wright (Monroe Police Department). Background: A section of Bragg Street in Monroe, North Carolina (Google Maps).
A mother in North Carolina is accused of killing her baby when she fell asleep next to the infant, and it's apparently not the first time she's accused of causing the death of a child.
Natricia Ann Wright, 27, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and felony child abuse, according to the Monroe Police Department.
The defendant was booked in the Union County Detention Center on a $750,000 secured bond.
On May 18, at about 10 a.m., police responded to a home on Bragg Street in Monroe, "after receiving a report of an unresponsive infant." Monroe is located just southeast of the state's biggest city, Charlotte.
Though officers say they "immediately began lifesaving efforts" and medical personnel arrived and did the same, the infant was pronounced dead.
Detectives began investigating and "uncovered that the infant died as a result of co-sleeping," according to law enforcement.
Police said that after "carefully reviewing the facts of the case, detectives determined that criminal charges were appropriate," and on Thursday, they charged her with the crime.
"First and foremost, our hearts go out to this child and everyone affected by this heartbreaking loss," said Monroe Police Chief Rhett Bolen. "There is nothing that can adequately express the tragedy of losing a child, and we recognize that this investigation has been incredibly difficult for everyone involved. Our detectives have spent nearly three months carefully working to understand exactly what happened and to make decisions based on facts and evidence. These charges are the result of that investigation and the specific circumstances uncovered by our detectives."
This was reportedly not the first time Wright was accused of killing a child.
According to regional CBS affiliate WBTV, after a 5-month-old boy died in May 2020, Wright — his mother — and the boy's father were accused of killing him.
On May 20, 2020, authorities say someone called 911 about an unresponsive child. Emergency responders arrived and pronounced the boy dead.
The baby reportedly suffered from chronic malnutrition after Wright and the father allegedly failed to provide adequate food or healthcare for months from December 2020 through May 2020. An arrest warrant said this time frame matched most of, if not all, of the child's life.
Wright and the father were charged in August 2020, and three years later, they pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of placing a child at risk of harm or willfully abandoning a child, and they were placed on probation.
For the more recent case, Wright's next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 24.