On Tuesday morning, Clinton Police were called to the local Econo Lodge where officers discovered a deceased two-month-old infant.
While the Hinds County coroner believes that the child died from asphyxiation, as a possible result of co-sleeping, an official autopsy will be performed to determine the actual cause of death.
Darla Luke, the baby’s mother, has been charged with felony neglect.
This is not Luke’s first offense. The 34-year-old mother of nine was charged with misdemeanor child neglect on June 7. Luke had temporarily lost custody of her children, but the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services eventually returned them to her guardianship.
As of now, the Department of Human Services has placed Luke’s eight other children in the care of a grandmother.
Bond for Luke was set at $25,000 and the case is still under investigation.
