Investigators: Mom arrested for neglecting infant who died
A Sanford woman was arrested for and accused of neglecting her infant son, who investigators say starved to death.
Michelle Spinicchia, 26, faces a charge of child neglect as well as charges of domestic battery and resisting arrest. She was arrested Sunday.
Benjamin Mitchell and his twin were born premature on July 11, 2016. They weighed less than 4 pounds each, their father later told deputies.
Benjamin had some trouble breathing, and his parents were supposed to take him to doctors for follow-up appointments but never did, Seminole County sheriff’s spokeswoman Kim Cannaday said.
On Aug. 10, Benjamin’s father woke up and saw that the child was not breathing, deputies wrote in a report. Benjamin’s body was cold. His father called 911 and started doing CPR, but the boy was pronounced dead.
A medical examiner who performed Benjamin’s autopsy said the child was “severely malnourished and underweight,” Cannaday said.
“Investigators believed that [Spinicchia’s] failure to provide essential medical care and to properly feed the infant resulted in his death,” Cannaday said.
Spinicchia had already been arrested March 11 for allegedly hitting the children’s father, but was released on bail on the condition that she does not contact him.
On Sunday, the father called deputies and said Spinicchia was still calling and texting him, deputies said.
Deputies arrested Spinicchia on a charge of violating the conditions of her pretrial release and noticed there was a warrant for her arrest in connection with her baby’s death as well.