Rianna Marie Cameron, Minnesota mom charged with baby’s death after drinking liter of whiskey and giving birth unattended with child’s BAC measuring .23 (three times the legal limit driving).
A Minnesota woman has been charged with second-degree manslaughter after her baby died following a ‘bender’ in which she drank a liter of whiskey and gave birth unattended.
Rianna Marie Cameron, 29, of Rogers was charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter for the 2018 death of her newborn daughter.
A criminal complaint, filed in Hennepin County Court, stated authorities being called to Cameron’s home by the baby’s father on December 30, 2018 at about 8.39pm because there was an unresponsive infant in the home, according to WCCO.
When police arrived at the home, they found an unattended two year old and a three year old child on the first floor. Upon going to the second floor where they found a newborn baby girl lying at the foot of a bed with her umbilical cord still attached to disoriented Cameron.
The baby was said to have turned purple and did not seem to be breathing.
Police began giving the baby life-saving measures until paramedics arrived and took her to the hospital, where she was declared dead an hour later.
Newborn child born with BAC of .23- three times the legal limit for an adult driving car:
An autopsy determined the baby dying of ‘complications of acute ethanol intoxication and unsupported delivery.’
The baby’s blood alcohol content was said to be 0.23 — almost three times the legal limit for an adult who is driving a car — while a breathalyzer determined that Cameron had a BAC of 0.21 half an hour after authorities arrived at her home, according to KSTP.
In the charging document, police said that Cameron — who was 34-weeks pregnant at the time — told them that she had drank about a liter of whiskey while on a ‘bender’ and that she had started drinking at about 5pm that day.
Police said they found an empty 1.75 liter bottle of whiskey in Cameron’s kitchen.
Cameron was said to have ‘a lengthy chemical dependency and child protection history.’ Since 2012, Cameron has been civilly committed for alcohol addiction three times and has been in and out of treatment.
Police said they spoke with Cameron on two different occasions regarding alcohol use in the months prior to her baby’s death, once in July 24 and again on December 15, just 15 days before – according to WFAA.
The second time police said they spoke with Cameron, she allegedly said that she was in treatment for alcohol addiction and that she understood the dangers of drinking.
If convicted of the second-degree manslaughter charges, Cameron could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
