A South Carolina mother was charged Tuesday, August 23, with killing her 4-day-old baby by placing him in a refrigerator for three hours.
Angela Blackwell, 27, was arrested Monday, nearly six months after the February 27 tragedy, the Associated Press reported. Deputies said she removed her son from the fridge and then called for help. According to the AP, the newborn, William David Blackwell, died from hypothermia with asphyxiation. A motive has not yet been revealed.
“This case was under heavy investigation,” Chester County Coroner Terry Tinker told WYFF. “Initially we did not know why the body was so cold.” Tinker added that there were 10 people at the residence when the child died. “Investigators had to speak to everyone who was there,” he explained.
Billy Lewis, Blackwell’s father-in-law, believes the accused is innocent. “She didn’t do it. We don’t know who did,” Lewis told WYFF. “We just know she didn’t do it because she loves her kids so much.”
The baby’s dad, Jeff Lewis, also insists Blackwell had nothing to do with the death. “She’s innocent. She’s a good mother,” he told WSOC.
Blackwell and Lewis have another child, a 2-year-old son, who was taken by the Department of Social Services after William’s death.
According to the AP, Jeff Lewis has a lengthy arrest record with theft convictions dating back to 2005. He served more than two years in prison after a probation violation.
Blackwell faces a prison sentence of 20 years to life if she’s convicted of homicide by child abuse.
