Salem woman indicted for manslaughter after 'suspicious' death of 6-year-old in January
A 25-year-old Salem woman was indicted by a Marion County grand jury for first degree manslaughter on Friday in connection with the death of a 6-year-old in January.
According to court documents, the woman on or around Jan. 13 "did unlawfully and recklessly, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life," cause the death of the child.
Emergency personnel responded to a call just before 9 a.m. Jan. 20 at the 600 block of 18th Street SE for an unresponsive child, Salem Police said. The child was taken to Salem Health and died at the hospital, according to officials. The Oregon Medical Examiner's Office completed an autopsy, police said.
Police on Jan. 21 arrested a 29-year-old father and the 25-year-old woman in connection with the death of the child, which they described as "suspicious." The Salem Police Special Victims Unit was handling an investigation into the death. Police said at the time the two faced possible charges for alleged criminal mistreatment in the first degree.
The Marion County District Attorney's Office initially chose not to proceed with charges after the child's death but did not say why.
"The only thing I can say is that the investigation is ongoing," Deputy District Attorney Brendan Murphy wrote in an email to the Statesman Journal in January.
It does not appear a judge has yet signed a warrant for the woman's arrest and the woman is not listed on the Marion County Jail roster.
Statesman Journal reporter Dianne Lugo contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem woman indicted for manslaughter after death of 6-year-old
