Burlco woman gets prison for accidentally smothering infant
Melissa Johnson pleaded guilty in a deal with the prosecutor.
A 39-year-old Delran woman was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison for accidentally smothering her infant son after drinking alcohol, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said.
Melissa Johnson pleaded guilty to second-degree endangerment of the welfare of a child in a deal with the prosecutor. She was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Philip E. Haines in Mount Holly.
On Feb. 18, 2015, paramedics were called to Johnson’s home to respond to a report of an unresponsive child. Coffina said a family member found Johnson on her couch, asleep partly on top of her 3-month-old son.
Johnson had been drinking for several hours, Coffina said.
Burlington County Medical Examiner Ian Hood ruled that the child had been accidentally asphyxiated.
“This is a heartbreaking and tragic occurrence for everybody involved,” Coffina said in a statement. “But justice demands accountability for such actions, and in this case, that includes a sentence involving incarceration.”