Mother, boyfriend charged in infant's suffocation death

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — A Coweta County mother and her boyfriend are in jail after police say her 3-month-old son suffocated to death while asleep on his stomach in his crib.

Newnan police found the baby dead last Wednesday around 10 a.m. at a house on Spence Avenue.
Investigators say the baby slept on his stomach and suffocated because he couldn't raise his head from the plush pillow he slept on.

Kayla Henderson says the death of her nephew Cassius was not an innocent mistake. She says murder charges against her 23-year-old sister Elizabeth Norris and Norris’s boyfriend Adam Brady are justified.

“She got what she deserved,” Henderson said.

The family showed Channel 2's Matt Johnson the fold-up crib they say the boy slept in and the long pillow they say the boyfriend put underneath him.

“It was really his idea because he claims the baby sleeps better on his stomach,” Henderson said.

Police filed second degree murder charges Monday because they say the couple knew the risks of leaving the baby on his stomach.

“They had total disregard to that and caused the death through placing the baby on his stomach on a plush pillow in the crib,” said Newnan police Deputy Chief Mark Cooper.

Norris' family says they became suspicious when they saw how the mother reacted.

“She was screaming but it was more forced, it was more rehearsed,” said brother-in-law Darius Ervin.

The coroner ruled Cassius died at around 4 a.m. that day. Police say the boyfriend called 911 six hours later.

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Henderson says she didn't understand why the couple didn't call sooner.

“She claimed she didn't know what to do but if it was my kid, the first thing I would have done was call 911,” Henderson said.

Her sister says Norris also has a 3-year-old daughter who has been living with another relative.

Police say interviews with the couple played a role in their arrests. Jail records show they're due in court in January.

Cox Media Group