Mother charged in baby's methadone death

WEST ALLIS, Wis., March 12 (UPI) -- A 26-year-old woman in West Allis, Wis., has been charged in the death of her 3-month-old daughter from acute methadone intoxication, investigators say.

Andrea P. Zalewski was charged with one count of child neglect resulting in death in Milwaukee County Circuit Court in relation to the death of her baby, Lola Lieb, in October, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Thursday.

Zalewski claims that on Oct. 29 she found her child wasn't breathing after responding to a sleep apnea monitor that had gone off. But investigators claim the machine hadn't been used since it was turned off Oct. 22.

The baby's pediatrician informed investigators the infant had been born with a methadone addiction due to her mother's methadone use during pregnancy.

The doctor, whose identity wasn't reported, said he had recommended Zalewski use the sleep apnea machine to monitor her child. She was also advised not to breastfeed her child in order to avoid pass along any methadone in her system.

Investigators claim to have found traces of methadone in Lola Lieb's bottle and in a syringe found nearby the night of the baby's death, the Journal Sentinel said.