LANCASTER, Pa. — A Lancaster mother is facing charges after police say her use of drugs and practice of co-sleeping caused her 3-month-old baby's death.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, officers responded to a home in the 500 block of South Lime Street in Lancaster on Aug. 30 for a baby in cardiac arrest.
At the scene, investigators found several crack pipes, a bag of suspected crack cocaine and an empty clear container commonly used to package drugs like crack cocaine.
Luz Saez, 32, allegedly told officers on the day of the death that she had been using cocaine to "stay awake" to care for her baby. Police noted that she appeared to fall asleep several times during the interview and had to be verbally roused. Saez tested positive for cocaine on Sept. 2.
Her mother allegedly told police that she checked on Saez and the baby between 6 and 7 a.m. on Aug. 30 and found Saez asleep with the baby facedown next to her.
At a later interview with police on Sept. 26, Saez allegedly admitted to sleeping in the same bed as the victim and smoking crack cocaine the day before her baby died. She claimed to have been awake for two days before the death and that she used crack cocaine throughout her entire pregnancy, with an increase towards the second half.
Doctors originally flagged the baby as testing positive for cocaine when he was born in May. According to a criminal complaint, Saez and the Lancaster County Children and Youth Agency agreed upon a safety plan to take care of the baby.
The Lancaster County Coroner's Office ruled the victim's cause of death complications of asphyxia due to co-sleeping and the manner accidental.
Saez is charged with involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child.
