WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – A West Valley City mother was charged, Tuesday, with the murder of her 13-month-old child more than a year after his death.
Kim Hawkins, 24, was charged after a medical examiner’s report indicated the baby may have been suffocated on Jan. 23, 2014.
“The autopsy did establish that the baby had teeth marks inside his upper lip, which might have been caused by compressing the lip against the baby’s teeth, as might occur during manual suffocation or smothering,” court documents state. “In addition, the baby had three small bruises in a pattern underneath his chin, which might also be relevant to that mechanism of injury.”
The medical examiner’s report indicated that they ruled out any toxicological, natural, disease or other cause of the child’s death.
Hawkins had made several inconsistent statements about the events that led up to her child’s death, court documents indicate.
On Jan. 23, court documents state, Hawkins’ friend left the residence at about 10 a.m. He told police the child was playing in the crib when he left. Hawkins admitted she was the only adult with the child.
Hawkins told investigators she heard the 13-month-old playing with a toy in his crib then she heard him throw his Sippy Cup against the wall.
About 15 minutes later, Hawkins went to get the child to feed him breakfast and found him unresponsive, not moving and his lips were turning blue.
Hawkins called her friend who told her to hang up and call 911. The call was received just before 11 a.m.
Hawkins told detectives that her friend didn’t kill her child and the baby did not suffocate on pillows or anything in his crib, court documents state.
Hawkins also “volunteered that if she were in the position of the detectives, she would think that someone suffocated her baby with either a hand or something like a blanket over his face.”
Hawkins was booked into Salt Lake County Jail on a $1 million bond.
