Two arrested in Jackson County infant deaths

Jackson County deputies arrested two women today on felony charges of neglect of a dependent after both fell asleep with their infant, while allegedly on drugs, and the babies died, in two separate incidents recently.

The sheriff’s department says that Ada Baldwin was arrested today after in investigation into an November incident where her child died in Freetown after sleeping with Baldwin in her bed. The coroner ruled the cause of death was undetermined or a Sudden Unexplained Infant Death. She was arrested in the Washington County Jail where she was being held in a different case.

25-year-old Hailey J. Martin was arrested today after a similar incident in January in Hamilton Township where her child died. The coroner ruled the cause of death in that case was also undetermined or a Sudden Unexplained Infant Death.

In neither case did the forensic pathologist find that the cause of death was asphyxiation. In both cases the women had illegal drugs in their system, according to police reports.

Sheriff Rick Meyer warns that co-sleeping is dangerous as infants don’t have the ability to move away to protect themselves. He says these deaths were tragic and preventable.

For more information on the dangers of co-sleeping you can contact either the Jackson County Health Department or your family doctor.