A West Virginia couple has been charged with first degree murder in the death of their 4-month-old baby last year from apparent alcohol poisoning.
The arrests came last week after the medical examiner determined the little girl had an ethanol reading of 3.210 in her liver tissue, an amount that would be fatal to an infant, WDTV reported.
James Joseph Smith, 34, and Angel Talbert, 23, were also charged with child neglect resulting in death, and conspiracy, the Braxton County Sheriff’s Department said. Smith and Talbert admitted that they had been rubbing alcohol on the baby’s gums every day for nearly a month, whenever the child became irritable or fussy.
The parents called 911 early in the morning on November 16, 2024, when they discovered the infant not breathing and lying face down. The met an ambulance at the bottom of their driveway. The child was loaded onto the ambulance at about 5:15 a.m. and pronounced dead about 15 minutes later.
Deputies at the home found roaches crawling in several places and noted that the house had no running water in the bathroom or kitchen. Smith said they filled up containers at a spigot in the backroom and carried it to the kitchen or bathroom when needed. The deputies also found drug paraphernalia.
Smith and Talbert are being held without bond pending a bond hearing.
