Alorton mother charged with causing death of 6-month-old baby girl

A 6-month-old baby girl died after her mother fell asleep with her on a couch in their Alorton home in May, according to a charge filed Monday by the St. Clair County state’s attorney’s office.

Kimberly A. Jenkins, 35, was under the influence of alcohol when she fell asleep on the couch with her daughter, Mariah McCorkle, in turn causing the child’s death on May 21, according to the charge.

The St. Clair County coroner was not immediately available to specify an exact cause of death.

Jenkins told the BND she took her daughter to Touchette Regional Hospital in Centreville after she discovered Mariah was not breathing. The girl was pronounced dead at the hospital. Jenkins said another child of hers died in a similar fashion four years ago.

As of Monday afternoon, Jenkins had not yet been taken into custody.

The Metro-East Child Death Task Force investigated the death.

This story was originally published June 26, 2017 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Alorton mother charged with causing death of 6-month-old baby girl."