By Samuel Maull
New York - A teenage mother who spent an evening drinking gin before her four-month-old daughter drowned in a bucket of cleaning solution and vomit pleaded guilty on Thursday to criminally negligent homicide in the baby's death.
Savarin DeJesus, 18, of Staten Island, entered the plea in Manhattan's state Supreme Court in exchange for a sentence of five years' probation. She was allowed to leave court with her family after entering the plea.
The teen admitted that she went out on the evening of September 15 after leaving the baby with a friend. She said she drank gin heavily before returning at around 4am to the homeless shelter in East Harlem where she and her baby, Niah, were staying.
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After returning, DeJesus told the court, she continued drinking from a bottle containing gin and cola until she felt nauseous. She vomited into a bucket of cleaning solution next to her bed, then passed out with the baby at her side.
When she woke at around 2pm, she found Niah's head inside the bucket, which contained about 15cm of liquid.
The baby was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The cause of death was asphyxiation or drowning, the medical examiner's office said. The felony complaint against DeJesus said the baby smelled of alcohol.
Justice William Wetzel said he would consider youthful offender status for DeJesus, who had no prior criminal record. Youthful offender status would allow her criminal records to be sealed after she finishes her sentence.
DeJesus' lawyer Roxanna Gutierrez left court without commenting on the case.
Another of her lawyers, Kenneth Gilbert, said at the teen's first court appearance, her arraignment, that the baby's death was unintentional.
"She loved her baby and would never hurt her," Gilbert said, adding that his client was taking antidepressants in the wake of Niah's death.
He said his client had been staying at the shelter to be closer to the baby's father, who lived in the East Harlem area.
Catholic Charities operates the shelter, a 17-room space for pregnant women and mothers, under a contract with the city's Department of Homeless Services. The Sisters of Charity of New York runs the shelter on a daily basis. - Sapa-AP
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