Mother charged with aggravated manslaughter for death of her child in Gainesville

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - A Gainesville woman is in the Alachua County jail for the death of her child.

Alachua County Sheriff’s officials said they received a 911 call from a mother, Rebecca Morris, 36, reporting that her infant child was not breathing on May 19.

ASO deputies and Alachua County Fire Rescue officials responded to the home and took the child to the hospital, where the child later died.

Investigators with the Florida Department of Children and Families conducted an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the child’s death.

Morris has a lengthy criminal history including drug and child abuse charges, but the child abuse charges were later dropped.

“When you have a child, that child is solely dependent, and an infant is solely dependent on you as the parent to protect them, to care for them, to nurture them, to provide them food, shelter in a safe environment. And so when you fail to do that, and a child dies, there’s just no excuse for that,” shared Captain Chris Sims, spokesperson for the sheriff’s office.

During the initial investigation, detectives executed a search warrant at the home and found small amounts of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

They also found a pipe that tested positive for meth in a drawer near a baby spoon. Morris says she’s never seen it before.

“If you are in a home where drug use is rampant or where drugs are around children and you can’t adequately provide a safe home for that child, by all means, if you need to call the sheriff’s office and let us know, we would be happy to connect you to resources that can shelter that child in a safe place,” shared Sim.

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Over the next few weeks, medical examiners told detectives that the child’s cause of death was from toxic levels of meth in its system. This is not from second-hand exposure or breastfeeding.

Detectives got a 2nd search warrant for the home on Wednesday, and additional items were collected for evaluation.

Morris said she has not smoked marijuana in about four months and hasn’t used other drugs in two years. A drug test came back clean.

However, a witness showed investigators a text message indicating they smoked marijuana together May 15. Morris requested an attorney when investigators asked how she tested negative for drugs if she smoked a few days prior.

ASO officials say this remains an active investigation, and anyone with additional information is asked to contact the sheriff’s office.

Morris is facing one count of aggravated manslaughter of a child, and she is being held without bond in the Alachua County Jail.

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