Sentenced: Virginia Parents Plead Guilty In Death Of Their 25-day-old Baby

[Sugar Cookie]

The parents of a 25-day-old baby who died last year as the result of exposure to methamphetamine both pled guilty to felony murder Tuesday in Spotsylvania Circuit Court.

Robert William Wescott, 51, and Heather Louann Black, 31, both accepted responsibility for the death of their infant son who died in a room at the Lake Anna Lodge. A medical examiner ruled that the child died as the result of methamphetamine toxicity.

According to police and the evidence presented by Sweeney, the couple was staying at the motel on April 17, 2021, when Black asked Wescott to get some methamphetamine. Black went to a nearby location, where he traded some pocket knives for the drugs.

Wescott smoked his portion outside, while Black used her drugs in the bathroom, court records state. With them at the time was the infant and another child who was just under 1 year old.

Wescott was in the bathroom getting ready for work the next morning, and Black brought the unresponsive child to him. The parents called 911 and performed CPR in an attempt to get the child to start breathing, but were unsuccessful.

Rescue workers arrived and the child was declared deceased. The parents admitted to using drugs, but they said the child was not breastfed and they were not sure how the baby got a lethal amount of methamphetamine in his system. The infant slept in the bed with his parents.


An autopsy showed no trauma to the child’s body of any other obvious causes of death. He did have methamphetamine in his system.

Virginia parents plead guilty in death of their 25-day-old baby

The parents of a 25-day-old baby who died last year as the result of exposure to methamphetamine both pled guilty to felony murder Tuesday in Spotsylvania Circuit Court.

richmond.com

 

[cubby]

Maybe just breathing in the smoke? I don't know since I don't smoke anything. But I give them a little credit for calling 911 and trying to do the right thing, which is a helluva lot more than most do.

 

[HEREIBE22]

Why do they cry when they get caught?

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Robert W. Wescott, 51, and Heather L. Black, 31, both of Spotsylvania, were sentenced by Judge William Glover to 25 years with 15 years suspended. Both had previously pleaded guilty in Spotsylvania Circuit Court to felony murder.

The charge stemmed from the April 17, 2021, death of infant Caden Wescott, who died in a room at the Lake Anna Lodge on Courthouse Road. The child’s cause of death was determined to be methamphetamine toxicity.

According to the evidence presented previously by prosecutors Amanda Sweeney and Ryan Mehaffey, the couple was staying at the motel when Black suggested that Wescott get some methamphetamine. The couple had been off drugs for an extended period at that time, according to testimony, but decided to use drugs in part because their older children were staying elsewhere that night.

Caden and another child who was just under a year old at the time were at the motel as Wescott smoked his portion outside while Black used hers in the bathroom.

The next morning, Wescott was in the bathroom getting ready for work when Black brought the unresponsive child to him. The parents called 911 and performed CPR in an attempt to get the child to resume breathing, but rescue workers declared the baby dead at the scene.

The parents admitted using drugs, but said the baby was not breastfed and were not sure how the baby, who slept in the bed with the couple, got a lethal amount of methamphetamine in his system.

A plea agreement worked out by prosecutors and defense attorneys John Mayoras and Patricia Bolen limited the parents to an active sentence of no more than 12 years. Both Mayoras and Bolen asked Glover for a sentence at the lower end of the recommended state sentencing guidelines, which was about six years.

They said the parents are extremely remorseful about the result of suffering another relapse in their lengthy struggles with addiction.

“Everything about this is sad and tragic,” Mayoras said. “[Wescott] has been dealing with his demons for 30 years, and now it has cost him the life of his son.”

Black testified that she remains devastated about the loss of her son, calling it the worst day of her life. She said she continues to suspect that something else contributed to Caden’s death, “but obviously we did something wrong.”

Sweeney argued that although the parents are sorry about what happened, they deserve significant punishment. “[Caden] had only 25 days before his life was taken by the very people who were supposed to protect him,” Sweeney said.

Parents whose baby died after they smoked methamphetamine sentenced

The parents of a 25-day-old boy who died in Spotsylvania County last year after being exposed to methamphetamine were both ordered Monday to serve 10 years in prison.

fredericksburg.com

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Black testified that she remains devastated about the loss of her son, calling it the worst day of her life. She said she continues to suspect that something else contributed to Caden’s death, “but obviously we did something wrong.”

I guess this egg want's to make herself feel better.