Woman fell asleep breastfeeding her 5-week-old baby, leading cops to find the boy not breathing and a bloody bra: Police

Background: The Marion County Law Enforcement Center in Knoxville, Iowa (Google Maps). Inset: Brigette Renard (Marion County Sheriff's Office).

A mother in Iowa is accused of falling asleep while feeding her baby, with authorities saying they later found the boy unresponsive and collected a bra containing blood.

Brigette Renard, 19, has been charged with child endangerment causing death, according to jail records reviewed by Law&Crime. She was booked into the Marion County Jail on Wednesday.

On Nov. 21, 2025, deputies with the Marion County Sheriff's Office went to a home in Knoxville, Iowa, a city in the center of the state about 35 miles southeast of Des Moines. They had been told a 5-week-old boy was not breathing and had no pulse, according to court records reviewed by regional radio stations KNIA and KRLS.

First responders and deputies worked to care for the boy until he was brought to a nearby hospital. It was there that he was pronounced dead.

Investigators spoke with the mother — Renard — who reportedly first said the child was sleeping in a bassinet before she allegedly changed her story and admitted that the boy was sleeping in bed with her and her partner. She added that she was breastfeeding the baby when she fell asleep.

Renard apparently woke up to the infant lying unresponsive next to her.

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As evidence in the case, investigators seized a bra from Renard that contained blood spatter, the local outlets reported. DNA analysis reportedly suggested the blood came from the child.

Authorities said that Renard knew about the dangers of co-sleeping, as she had allegedly co-slept with another child in the past, leading to that child's death.