Mom covers 9-month-old son’s face with blanket and kills him, Pennsylvania cops say
A 21-year-old woman is accused of killing her 9-month-old son by “smothering” his face with a blanket, police told local media outlets.
Police reported going to the home of Patricia Hullenbaugh in Indiana, Pennsylvania, on Jan. 6 on reports of an unresponsive baby before finding the ailing child, according to WPXI.
Hullenbaugh is accused of first telling police she put the baby down for a nap before later finding him hanging partially outside the crib face-down on the mattress, KDKA reported.
Police said Hullenbaugh later admitted to killing the child and staging the scene in an attempt to conceal the baby’s true cause of death, KDKA reported.
Police said she confessed to putting a blanket over the 9-month-old’s face and applying pressure, which stopped his breathing, WJAC reported.
The criminal complaint said she “panicked and placed [the baby] between the slats to cover up what she did,” WPXI reported.
She also told officers she waited 15 minutes before getting the child’s father for help, police said, according to WJAC.
The child’s father performed CPR and the infant was taken to the hospital where he died five days later on Jan. 11, WPXI reported.
Hullenbaugh is charged with criminal homicide, strangulation, endangering the welfare of a child and possessing an instrument of a crime with intent, according to court records.
She was denied bail, court records show. Attorney information for Hullenbaugh was not listed.
Hullenbaugh’s next court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 8.
This story was originally published February 2, 2024 at 7:46 AM with the headline "Mom covers 9-month-old son’s face with blanket and kills him, Pennsylvania cops say."
