Mom had whiskey, NyQuil before she accidentally smothered baby in sleep, IL cops say

A mom in Illinois was sentenced this week following the tragic death of her 2-month-old while co-sleeping, police say.

Jennifer Bishop, 32, pleaded guilty Dec. 16 to the charge of endangering the life or health of a child months after police say she accidentally smothered her infant child while sleeping, WAND reported.

The Decatur woman was sentenced to 24 months probation and ordered to complete parenting classes, avoid alcohol and undergo a substance abuse evaluation, according to the outlet.

Bishop initially pleaded not guilty but changed her plea as part of a plea agreement, WAND reported.

Police responded to Bishop’s Decatur home on Feb. 27, according to WICS. Bishop told police she had left the room to get a bottle and returned to find that her son, Franky, wasn’t breathing. She initially said Franky had been in his crib, according to the outlet.

The crib, however, was full of books and clothing and police said it appeared to be used for storage, WAND reported.

Police also noted that Bishop smelled of alcohol, the Herald and Review reported. Bishop denied drinking alcohol before the incident but later told police she’d had an entire bottle of whiskey and a bottle of NyQuil, according to the newspaper. She’d also been taking prescription medication.

Franky’s father told police that Bishop was known to co-sleep with Franky, but Bishop denied doing so the night of the incident, WICS reported.

Co-sleeping is when parents and children sleep near each other, often in the same bed.

An autopsy determined that Franky died by “asphyxia due to overlaying while co-sleeping/bed sharing in an adult bed with an adult,” the Review reported.

Bishop was arrested June 10, according to WICS.

Her family says there’s another side to the story.

Bishop’s family denies she was sleeping next to Franky when he died and provided an independent medical report by Dr. Thom E. Lobe to the Review that disputed the findings of the Macon County Coroner’s office.

He believes the child died from sudden infant death syndrome, explaining that he found “no conclusive objective evidence of asphyxia secondary to co-sleeping documented in the autopsy findings to support the coroner’s written cause of opinion,” according to the newspaper.

Macon County State’s Attorney Scott Rueter said he and his team read the report and that it factored into the charges and plea deal, the Review reported.

Decatur is in the middle of the state, roughly 180 miles southwest of Chicago.