John Jefferson
Inset: Tricia Cavanaugh (Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office). Background: The house where Cavanaugh’s daughter died (Google Maps).
A self-proclaimed “super mom” in Indiana will spend just shy of a decade behind bars for the 2016 co-sleeping death of her 4-month-old daughter, authorities announced this week.
On Sept. 3, Tricia Kay Cavanaugh, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury before Delaware County Circuit Court Judge Douglas Mawhorr.
On Monday, she was ordered to spend the next 14 years behind bars. Following her time in state prison, Cavanaugh will be subject to an additional two years of supervised release, according to a press release issued by the Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Formal justice in the case was a long time coming.
“I know she was not held in jail the entire time awaiting trial,” Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney Eric M. Hoffman told Law&Crime in an email. “She made bail at some point. And then at some point was on the lamb for a while and then arrested and held until she plead guilty.”
The incident occurred sometime on or around the morning of June 6, 2016, at a residence on North Glenwood Avenue in Muncie — a medium-sized city some 50 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
On the day in question, the Muncie Police Department was responding to a call about an unresponsive child, court documents show.
Police entered the house to find Cavanaugh “kneeling on the floor in the living room next to her” daughter, an affidavit of probable cause for arrest without a warrant says.
“Officers observed [the child] unresponsive lying on the floor,” the document reads. “Cavanaugh was crying hysterically and trying to give [the child] CPR. Once officers arrived, they took over CPR efforts until EMS arrived.”
The child was then rushed to nearby Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, the court document notes. Lifesaving efforts continued for some time, but vainly; the girl was finally pronounced dead at 10:11 a.m., police wrote.
“While officers were inside the residence administering aid, they detected the odor of burnt marijuana,” the affidavit reads.
More Law&Crime coverage: ‘The child lay lifeless’: Mom who rolled on top of her 5-month-old baby girl while ‘co-sleeping,’ then left her in bed for 8 hours is sentenced
One of the initial responding officers conducted a brief crime-scene interview with the since-condemned mother and ascertained that Cavanaugh “had woken up a few hours earlier and brought” the child to her bed “to breastfeed her.” Then, Cavanaugh said, after her girl was done eating, she “fell asleep” with the baby “on the bed next to her.” When she woke up again, her little girl “was next to her face down.”
The officer who authored the police report, Amy Kesler, arrived later and took note of several relevant issues at the scene.
The document reads, at length:
At that time, Cavanaugh appeared to be intoxicated, with unsteady balance, slow and slurred speech, and poor manual dexterity, While the Affiant was on scene, she overheard Cavanaugh say to a family member, “I know what happened, I shouldn’t have taken my Norco.” Cavanaugh was subsequently transported to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital. While Cavanaugh was at the hospital, investigators obtained a search warrant authorizing a legal blood draw. Prior to submitting to the blood draw, Cavanaugh submitted to a saliva drug screen at the request of Cindy Baldwin from the Department of Child Services. The results of the DCS screen were positive for Hydrocodone, Diazepam, Nordiazepam, and Oxycodone. Cavanaugh then submitted to the legal blood draw. The results of the legal blood draw were positive for Hydrocodone and Nordiazepam.
As a result of the positive drug screening, police were able to obtain a search warrant for the residence. There, multiple prescription drugs were discovered — as well as several empty prescription drug bottles. At least one of those bottles was in the residence without Cavanaugh having a prescription, investigators determined. Another prescription had lapsed a few months prior, the affidavit notes.
Cavanaugh appears to have escaped a homicide charge because the autopsy on her daughter was unable to determine either the cause or manner of the child’s death. The physician who performed the autopsy, however, wrote that “unsafe sleeping conditions” were a contributing factor to her death.
The concept of co-sleeping is when an adult and a small child share a bed. The practice is advised against for infants by the American Academy of Pediatrics, due to the high risk of death.
“This case is a prime example of a needless death of an infant due unsafe sleep practices,” Hoffman said in a statement. “Parents and caregivers must follow the ABC’s of the safe sleep. Infants and babies should always sleep Alone, on their Backs, and in a safe Crib. Sleeping with the infant in an adult bed can result in the fatal smothering of an infant. Contrary to the belief of some, sleeping in an adult bed with your infant or, engaging in other unsafe sleep practices is, by definition, child neglect.”
Additional investigation determined that Cavanaugh, in fact, had previously been in trouble with child welfare authorities for co-sleeping with her children — and that she was well aware of the risks such sleeping methods posed.
“During one prior investigation from January of 2015, a DCS Case Manager had visited Cavanaugh’s residence and found her co-sleeping with her youngest child, who was 2-months old at the time,” the affidavit reads. “During that investigation DCS Case Manager Alyssa Kistler spoke with Cavanaugh. During that conversation, Cavanaugh stated that she is ‘really bad’ about co-sleeping but ‘understands why it is risky.’ A drug screen was performed at that time, and came back positive for Xanax, Marijuana and Cocaine. That child was removed from the home by the DCS Case Manager due to the dangerous sleeping conditions and Cavanaugh’s drug screen results.”
But eventually, the defendant was back at it again. After being apprised — again and repeatedly — of the dangers co-sleeping poses.
When her daughter was born in February 2016, hospital staff took specific measures due to her history of child neglect.
Again, the affidavit, at length:
Following [the girl’s] birth, the hospital educated Cavanaugh about unsafe sleep and the dangers of co-sleeping. Cavanaugh was instructed that newborns should sleep alone, on their back, in a crib or a pack-n-play. The hospital provided Cavanaugh with a document titled “Newborn Safety Information for Parents.” This instructional and educational sheet, which was signed by Cavanaugh, informed of the dangers of co-sleeping with an infant. Specifically, the form, signed and acknowledged by Cavanaugh, states “Do not sleep with your baby in your bed or while relaxing on the couch or chair.” The medical records indicate that despite being provided with this information, the nursing staff in the Labor and Delivery Unit found Celina sleeping in bed with Cavanaugh. The staff again educated Cavanaugh of the danger of co-sleeping and the importance of putting the infant back in the crib when she became drowsy. The staff also noted that Cavanaugh had a stuffed animal in the bed with her and Celina. Cavanaugh was once again educated about safe sleep. Prior to Celina being discharged from the hospital on February 14, 2016, Cavanaugh was provided with additional educational material pertaining to safe sleep. This material included instructions for Cavanaugh to not have the child sleep with her in bed. These instructions were signed by Cavanaugh. The instructions clearly stated that “Baby to sleep alone on her back in crib with fitted sheet. Nothing in the crib but the baby. Do not sleep with the baby.”
Cavanaugh was charged in July 2017 in connection with her daughter’s death. At first, she pleaded not guilty — and eventually made bail.
Then, she was slated to plead guilty to a level one felony in September 2020 — but skipped out on her sentencing hearing while on pretrial release, according to The Star Press. After that, she was charged with violating her pretrial home release program, escape, and theft.
She was arrested again soon, the prosecuting attorney’s office said.
During her sentencing hearing, Cavanaugh was credited with time spent in pretrial detention. As a result of those credits, “she has roughly 9 years left to do on the 14-year sentence,” Hoffman told Law&Crime.
Also during sentencing, Cavanaugh pleaded her case by referring to herself as a “super mom.”
The judge overseeing the matter quickly upbraided her: “I am not so sure about that.”
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