John Jefferson
Inset: Kristeny N. Davis (Cleveland County Detention Center). Background: The apartment building where her newborn baby was fatally injured (Google Maps).
A 32-year-old mother in Oklahoma has been arrested in connection with the death of her 2-month-old son after she allegedly got drunk and passed out, leaving the newborn and his 4-year-old brother unattended for more than an hour. Kristeny N. Davis was taken into custody last week and charged with one count of second-degree murder for the young boy’s slaying, court records show.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, officers with the Norman Police Department at about 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 7 responded to a call for a welfare check at OU Children’s Hospital regarding an infant with severe head injuries. The medical staff reported that due to the severity of the 2-month-old boy’s condition, he had been transferred to their hospital from Norman Regional Hospital Healthplex by air ambulance.
The boy succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead 12 hours after initially arriving at Norman Regional. He had suffered multiple skull fractures
In her initial interview with police, Davis said that she was at home with both of her children earlier in the day after she picked up her 4-year-old from day care. At some point, Davis said she left the kids alone for about three or four minutes and when she returned, she found the infant “injured and laying in a small ball-pit.”
Davis also described an incident that took place the previous day in which she witnessed her 4-year-old “throw [the victim] into that same ball-pit,” though the baby was not injured. She also said that her older son would “frequently jump into the ball pit from nearby furniture.”
“Initial reports to investigators were that the child had been flung into a ball pit in the residence and that’s how the injuries occurred,” Norman Police Department spokesperson Sarah Schettler said in an interview with Oklahoma City CBS affiliate KWTV.
However, as the investigation continued, police said they soon learned that Davis had been drinking throughout the day her son suffered the fatal injuries, purchasing her fist pint of whiskey at 9 that morning. She also allegedly admitted that she had tried to call the kids’ father to pick up their 4-year-old from day care because she was too impaired to drive, though she ultimately decided to “go ahead” and pick him up at about 3:30 p.m., polices said, adding that she purchased a second bottle of whiskey on her way to the day care.
“The defendant’s messages indicated that her BAC was as high as .14 during the day,” the affidavit states. “It was also found that after she arrived home with [the children], the defendants phone was inactive, and in a locked state from approximately 1700- 1830 hours. During a follow up interview, the defendant admitted that the timeframe in which [the infant] was unsupervised with [the 4-year-old] (as the defendant was intoxicated and sleeping) was more likely the entire 1.5 hours that her phone was inactive.”
Authorities believe that the infant suffered his fatal injuries during the 90 minutes Davis was asleep.
“I can’t do anything but blame myself,” Davis allegedly said during the interview.
Davis is currently being held in the Cleveland County Detention Center on bond of $750,000. She is scheduled to appear in court again for a preliminary hearing conference on March 18.
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