A Meadows of Dan woman has been arrested in connection with the death of her two-month-old baby, according to Sheriff Dan Smith.
Michaela Jae Barnard Wester, 19, was arrested Friday and charged with first-degree murder, according to a statement released by Smith on Monday morning.
On Jan. 3, 2016, Gunner Massey, Wester’s infant son, was transported by rescue squad to Pioneer Community Hospital in Stuart, where he was pronounced dead as a result of respiratory arrest.
Wester had called the 911 center earlier and said that her infant son was not breathing, Smith said.
An autopsy on the baby was conducted at that time by the state medical examiner’s office in Roanoke, and nothing suspicious was found as far as cause of death, Smith said.
Smith said the Patrick County Sheriff’s Office reopened the investigation last week when new evidence surfaced, and Wester subsequently confessed to intentionally suffocating the infant.
Lt. Betsy Layman and Investigator Terry Mikels are the investigating officers.
Wester is being held in the Patrick County Jail under no bond.
