Baby Dies After Being Tied & Taped by Mom

(Lake Stevens, Washington) A 20-year-old local woman, Bonnie Desmond, awoke on Monday about 11 AM to find her four-month-old son, Noah James Petersen, dead in his crib. She called 911 after calling her fiance, the infant's father. Rescuers arrived and found that the baby had been dead for several hours.

The baby's father said he had not checked on his son before leaving for work Monday morning because he was running late.

He told police that at times the couple would "swaddle" the baby in a swaddling blanket -- which he referred to as a "baby straitjacket" -- to calm the infant. He said the mother told him she couldn't find the blanket Sunday night so she had tied the baby's arms close to his body with his pajamas, according to the report.

Desmond also said that she taped a pacifier to the baby's face to keep it in his mouth. Unfortunately, it appears that tying up the baby boy and taping a pacifier in his mouth might have been too much stress for a four-month-old. The final determination of the cause of death awaits the ruling of the Medical Examiner's Office.

Nonetheless, Bonnie Desmond was arrested and booked Monday night to face a charge of first-degree manslaughter. She is in custody at the Snohomish County Jail with bail set at $500,000.