A Minneapolis mother has been accused of maliciously punishing a child of her 4-month-old child after the “suspicious” death of her 2-year-old son.
Navona Latina West, 25, faces two charges of child abuse.
West is not facing charges in connection with the death of her 2-year-old son, which Minneapolis police are investigating as murder.
RELATED: 2-year-old dies, Minneapolis police investigate “suspicious death”
Court records say Minneapolis police were called to signal that a child was not breathing on Wednesday night. The child was transported to a nearby hospital, where he died.
According to the criminal complaint, the police noticed numerous injuries on the body of the 2-year-old boy, “including bruises and scratches”.
After noticing the injuries, police transported West’s 4-month-old child to an evaluation hospital that identified multiple injuries, including bruises, possible burn marks, blood in his right eye and possible chemical burns.
“A pediatrician for child abuse treated victim B and observed several injuries on his face. Victim B was also found to have multiple rib fractures and had fluid in his abdomen. There was also a positive test result showing that victim B had been exposed to fentanyl, “the complaint said.
The complaint said West “either tried to deny or minimize the injuries to her children.”
After being told that her son had died, West “reiterated that she was essentially the only [who] she had access to her boys, but continued to claim that the injuries to both victims were due to their illness, “the complaint said.
Police questioned three witnesses who said they watched West hit her 2-year-old son, and one witness said he saw him “eating cigarette ash and that the defendant [West] I thought it was funny, “the complaint said.
West is due to appear in court on Monday, May 9 at 1:30 p.m.
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