Lower Township Woman Sentenced To Prison For Death Of Infant Son
Thursday, November 21, 2024, 11:30 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, NJ.- On Tuesday, a 29-year-old Villas woman found out she will be spending the next few years in prison for getting drunk, passing out, and allowing her infant son to tragically die when he fell from the bed.
According to Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland, on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, Michelle Stanton, 29, of Villas, New Jersey, appeared in Cape May County Superior Court and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge J. Christopher Gibson to four years in New Jersey State Prison, subject to the No Early Release Act, requiring Stanton to serve 85% of her custodial term before becoming eligible for parole.
The tragic events unfolded when, on June 25, 2023, members of the Lower Township Police Department responded to the home in the Villas section of Lower Township following receiving a report of an unresponsive infant boy.
Upon arrival, Police Officers found the baby boy unresponsive and not breathing. Police Officers began life-saving measures, and the infant was immediately transported to Cape May Regional Medical Center, where the baby boy was pronounced deceased at 3:04 a.m.
Investigation Uncovers Stanton Was Drunk
During an ensuing investigation, Detectives of the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office and the Lower Township Police Department uncovered that Stanton had consumed between 12 to 14 airplane bottles of vodka before she fell asleep with the baby boy in her arms. Hours later, Stanton awoke to find the infant boy wedged between the mattress and the wall in her bedroom, unconscious and not breathing.
A subsequent autopsy by the Medical Examiner’s Office determined the infant died as a result of mechanical asphyxia due to compressions to his chest being wedged between the mattress and the wall.
Following the investigation, Stanton was taken into custody and charged. On August 20, 2024, a Cape May County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Stanton with second-degree Manslaughter; and second-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child. On September 23, 2024, Stanton pleaded guilty to second-degree Manslaughter. In return for the guilty plea, the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office agreed that Stanton be sentenced under the third-degree range.
