Mother who smothered baby after heavy drinking gets prison
Authorities say a New Jersey woman who accidentally smothered her 3-month-old son after a night of heavy drinking was sentenced to prison time.
News 12 Staff
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Mar 22, 2019, 1:04 AM
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Updated 1,868 days ago
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(AP) - Authorities say a New Jersey woman who accidentally smothered her 3-month-old son after a night of heavy drinking was sentenced to prison time.
The Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday that 39-year-old Melissa Johnson was sentenced to four years.
The Delran woman had pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child in exchange for the sentence. The baby died of asphyxiation.
Emergency workers responded to Johnson's home Feb. 18, 2015, for a report of an unresponsive child. Officials said a relative had found Johnson asleep on the couch with the infant partially wedged underneath her.
The prosecutor said Johnson had been drinking alcohol for several hours.
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