HOUSTON – A mother is accused of trying to kill her 4-month-old baby.
Meredith Nicole Deen is charged with attempted capital murder. On Monday afternoon, Deen appeared in court, where her bond was set at $50,000. She is not allowed to make any contact with her child or her child's daycare for 90 days.
Meredith Deen is now appearing in probable cause court. Deen is accused of attempting to smother her 4-month-old infant. @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/PL9ZtaZpp9
— Brittany Jeffers (@KPRC2BrittanyJ) June 17, 2019
Court documents state Deen is accused of telling a witness she had punched the baby and saying that she wanted to throw the infant against a wall on June 13.
The witness, Deen's live-in boyfriend, told investigators that he saw Deen put pillows and blankets over the baby and then sit on top of them. He said he pulled Deen off the baby.
Later that night, the boyfriend said Deen again sat on top of pillows and blankets piled on the infant and he heard Deen say, "Why don't you die? Why are you still alive?" according to court documents.
The boyfriend said Deen assaulted him while driving the baby to day care. The staff there called authorities after he told them about the incident with the infant.
Investigators said Deen, who was interviewed in a mental health unit, admitted that she had punched the baby and tried to suffocate the baby, court records show.
Deen, 20, told investigators she was sorry for hurting the baby, according to court documents.
She was taken into custody Monday afternoon.
The day care released the following statement to parents about the incident:
"We are writing this letter in reference to an incident that occurred outside of the day care. The mother of (the baby) threatened her life and the life of her child. Sheriff's officers and EMS were dispatched and removed the child and mother without incident."