A 21-year-old Missouri woman, Alyssa Wehmeyer, is facing charges of child neglect resulting in death after her 1-year-old child was found deceased due to severe malnutrition and neglect. The Missouri Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control began investigating Wehmeyer following the child’s death on February 28.
The probable cause affidavit revealed that the child had not been fed for 43 hours prior to death. The last time Wehmeyer reportedly fed her child was on February 26. The child was found dead two days later, with an autopsy determining dehydration as the cause of death. The autopsy also reportedly found very little evidence of food in the child’s stomach.
Wehmeyer was taken into custody and interviewed by the police after being read her rights. She confirmed to the police that she had last fed her child on February 26 between 5 and 6 p.m., approximately 36 hours before the estimated time of the child’s death. The following day, she put the child to bed around 6:30 p.m. after changing the child’s diaper.
When questioned about the severe blisters found on the child, a symptom of diaper rash, Wehmeyer informed the police that she had last changed the child’s diaper nearly 19 hours before the estimated time of death. On the morning of February 28, Wehmeyer attended to the crying child for about 30 to 40 minutes around 2 a.m. before putting the child back to bed.
Later that day, around 1 p.m., Wehmeyer found the child unresponsive with blue lips. She admitted to the police that she should have taken the child to the doctor on February 27, but she had a migraine and decided to take a nap instead.
The arrest warrant accused Wehmeyer of neglecting the child for approximately 43 hours. She was arrested and charged with abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death. Wehmeyer is currently being held at Scott County Jail on a $100,000 cash bond. Her first court appearance is scheduled for March 6.