Parents give 4-month-old deadly amount of alcohol for being ‘fussy,’ WV cops say
A West Virginia couple is accused of trying to placate their 4-month-old with a “fatal amount” of alcohol, police said.
According to a criminal complaint, the parents of the baby — James Smith, 34, and Angel Talbert, 23 — told West Virginia State Police in an interview that they would rub alcohol on the baby’s gums when she would get “irritable and fussy,” WBOY reported.
McClatchy News reached out to the Braxton County Sheriff’s Office April 22 but did not receive a response. A spokesperson for the West Virginia Department of Health told McClatchy News they could not release records per state law.
Early on Nov. 16, Smith and Talbert woke up to check on the infant and found her “face down” and “not breathing,” deputies said, according to WBOY.
After calling emergency services and attempting CPR, the parents headed to the hospital with the baby, according to the complaint, WSAZ reported. An ambulance met them along the way.
The baby died at the hospital, despite life-saving attempts and not having any previous health conditions, WSAZ reported. An April 10 postmortem examination, however, found the baby had a “deadly” amount of ethanol in her system, the outlet reported.
In an interview with deputies a few days later, both Smith and Talbert admitted to putting alcohol on the infant’s gums for a month before her death, WSAZ and WDTV reported.
They were arrested on April 16 and charged with first-degree murder, child neglect resulting in death and conspiracy, according to WDTV. They are being held without bond at the Central Regional Jail, records show.
Braxton County is about a 160-mile drive southwest from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
This story was originally published April 22, 2025 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Parents give 4-month-old deadly amount of alcohol for being ‘fussy,’ WV cops say."
