KENT COUNTY, Mich. — A 39-year-old Cedar Springs woman is heading to trial after her 2-month-old infant was found suffocated in her bed last summer.
The Kent County Prosecutor's Office filed charges against Jennifer Mast in her baby's death dating back to Aug. 25, 2023. She's charged with involuntary manslaughter and child abuse.
On Wednesday, she denied a plea deal and will be heading to trial. No date has been set yet.
Deputies said the home had "deplorable" living conditions that included alcohol bottles, the smell of burnt marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia.
Deputies were called to a home in Solon Township on Aug. 25, 2023, on reports of an unresponsive baby. The mother, 39, had been sleeping in the same bed as the 2-month-old when the baby was found unresponsive. The baby's father, 38, was also home at the time.
The woman was charged with involuntary manslaughter and child abuse by the Kent County Prosecutor's Office. She was arraigned in the 63rd District Court.
Detectives are working with Child Protective Services throughout this investigation.
According to court documents in the case, the father and mother drank vodka and smoked marijuana that night before going to bed.
A thunderstorm that night knocked out power to the home, and the child's father told detectives he spent most of the night working to fix their generator.
During an interview with Mast, detectives said she told them she typically puts the baby in a bouncy seat that extends to sit like a bassinet. Most nights, she said she wakes up around 3 a.m. to feed the baby, change the child and then would put him in bed with her for the rest of the night.
That night, Mast told detectives she had two vodka mixed drinks and a shot of vodka before bed. She told investigators she did not drink the whole bottle, and it was empty because she had spilled it.
Mast said that night the baby fell asleep in his bouncy seat, and sometime during the night, she woke up, fed him, changed him, and then put the baby in bed with her.
When she woke up in the morning, the boy's father was getting ready for work and she rolled over to check on the baby.
Mast told detectives she noticed he was cold and not breathing. She said she grabbed the boy, went out onto the front porch and did CPR until investigators made it.
The medical examiner completed the child's autopsy and said the boy died from asphyxia by suffocation.
