Aaliyah Lykins: Indiana mom charged after death of second baby as she fell asleep while breastfeeding
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
MUNCIE, INDIANA: A mother is accused of causing the death of her newborn baby by falling asleep while breastfeeding and suffocating the child.
Reports said she did the same thing with her first child, who also died because she fell asleep in the same bed. After the baby's death, the accused, Aaliyah M Lykins, was arrested last week as per Law&Crime.
She is facing charges of felony reckless homicide and neglect of a dependent in connection with her daughter's death.
Muncie Police Department reported to call involving 2-week-old child
On October 9, 2023, the Muncie Police Department and emergency medical teams from the Muncie Fire Department rushed to a call about a baby having a heart attack.
Muncie is around 65 miles northeast of Indianapolis. The person who called, later identified as Aaliyah M Lykins, supposedly said to the emergency dispatcher that she fell asleep while breastfeeding her newborn.
When she woke up, the baby wasn't breathing. When they got to the house, the first responders found the 2-week-old baby, who isn't named in reports, inside.
They said the baby was floppy and not breathing. The medical team took the baby to a nearby hospital right away, but the doctors said she had died.
Aaliyah Lykins admits to killing one of her children again
When Lykins talked to one of the EMS workers at the scene, she seemed to mention a similar situation that happened before.
She said, "Oh no, I did it again."
According to the affidavit, "Aaliyah Lykins was fully aware of the danger of co-sleeping with her infant … as she had a prior born child die while co-sleeping."
On October 30, 2020, Lykins accidentally suffocated her 2-month-old baby while they were sleeping together in her bed.
In a statement from the police obtained by the station, Lykins reportedly admitted that she knew she shouldn't have put the baby in bed with her and that it was wrong.
Aaliyah Lykins has multiple criminal cases
In addition to facing accusations of killing children, court records also reveal that Lykins has several ongoing criminal cases in state circuit courts. In January 2021, she was charged with battery resulting in bodily injury to a pregnant woman and neglect of a dependent.
In a case from November 2021, she faces charges of neglect of a dependent and leaving the scene of an accident after crashing into an unattended car. In February 2023, she was charged with using a computer network or other electronic communication for harassment.