Cherokee County

Mother accidentally smothers baby during fatal meth overdose, sheriff says

Mother accidentally smothers baby during fatal meth overdose, sheriff says.

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A 31-year old woman who died from a methamphetamine overdose accidentally smothered her 8-month-old son, a Cherokee County sheriff's spokesman told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The bodies were found July 17 in a home on Cedar Mill Crossing in Acworth, sheriff’s spokesman Jay Baker said Friday in a statement. The woman’s 2-year-old daughter was discovered in the home unharmed and is with family members.

Authorities were called to the residence after a family member said they hadn’t been able to get in contact with the woman, identified as Holly Whitley, officials said.

“There were no obvious injuries to Whitley or her infant son,” Baker said.

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The GBI Crime Lab completed an autopsy in July, but officials were awaiting the results of the toxicology report to determine the cause and manner of death.

Officials listed the manner of death for Whitley and her son as accidental. Whitley’s cause of death was methamphetamine toxicity and the baby’s was mechanical asphyxia.

“In layman’s terms,” Baker said, “Ms. Whitley died from a lethal amount of methamphetamine in her system. Her body came to rest on top of her infant, which caused the child to smother, leading to his death.”

A GoFundMe page created to help pay for funeral costs for Whitley and her son identified the baby as Alex Fuentes.

This story was written by Steve Burns for the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.