An Alabama mother is accused of killing her one-year-old son by injecting a chemical mixture through his feeding tube, authorities say.
Kaitlynn Grace Dominick, 22, was arrested Tuesday on manslaughter and aggravated child abuse charges, after prosecutors allege she gave the baby the concoction, triggering a medical emergency that led to his death, according to the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office.
Dominick brought her son, who had a medical condition requiring the use of the feeding tube, to the USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Mobile, Alabama, on May 4. The baby died the next day.
Investigators said medical staff became concerned after reviewing the child’s lab results, prompting them to file a report with the Department of Human Resources, which then notified the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office.
“It started as a general investigation to find out what caused this child’s death, but during the course of this investigation, it then turned criminal,” Captain Justin Correa with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office said.
A two-week investigation found that during interviews with the authorities, Dominick gave inconsistent statements about the incident.
Then, during a later interview, Dominick allegedly admitted to mixing a solution and administering it to her son, leading to his death.
The mixture contained table salt and another liquid, according to a criminal complaint obtained by KWQC, and while officials have not publicly disclosed the exact substance, investigators said the combination proved deadly given the boy’s existing medical condition.
“We ultimately came to the conclusion that there was a concoction, a liquid mixture, that was introduced into the child’s preexisting feeding tube that then led to this medical emergency that ultimately led to the child’s death,” Correa stated.
Prosecutors allege Dominick knowingly gave her son the mixture to intentionally make him sick and force a hospitalization, which they say would temporarily relieve her of caregiving responsibilities.
“We think that this child has had a feeding tube for long enough, and Miss Dominick is educated enough to know what she is doing, and this is more of an intentional route rather than accidental,” Correa stated.
Teresa Heinz, chief assistant district attorney for Baldwin County, said that she does “believe that she did know that this would harm the child, and I do believe she did it because she knew that if the child was taken to the hospital that there would be adequate nursing staff, adequate doctors, adequate medical professionals who would then be tending to that child.”
A judge set Dominick’s bond at $75,000.
As conditions of her release, Dominick will be placed on GPS-monitored house arrest with limited exceptions. She is also prohibited from having contact with anyone under 18, must remain in Alabama and surrender her passport.
