Mother charged in death of baby left in car seat for 13 hours, prosecutors say

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. (WXIX/Gray News) - An Indiana mother is facing charges, including reckless homicide, after the death of her 9-day-old son.

Raeleigh Phillips, 22, is facing charges in connection to the death of her son, Emmett Phillips. Prosecutors say police and EMS found the baby unresponsive March 3 in a Lawrenceburg apartment. They say his cause of death was positional asphyxia, which means the child was in a position where he could not adequately breathe.

Court documents say Phillips left her son in his car seat for at least 13 hours. WXIX reports she told police she went to a friend’s house. When she arrived home, the baby was sleeping in the car seat, so she took him inside and let him sleep in the seat while she napped.

After her nap, Phillips says she tried to wake Emmett, but he was cold and not breathing. She called 911.

Police say the baby had not been fed in about 14 hours and was wearing a soiled diaper. Court records say he was taken to the hospital, where it was determined he had been dead for an extended period.

Bryn Beam is a resident of the apartment complex who also does work around the buildings. He says he was upset by the news of Emmett’s death.

“I’m a big kid person,” Beam said. “I love kids, and it kind of tore me up. It really broke my heart. I’ve seen a lot of stuff here over the years, but we’ve never had anything like this here.”

Phillips is in jail on a $200,000 bond. She’s facing charges of reckless homicide and neglect of a dependent. She was convicted of the latter charge in a different case in 2022.

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