Georgia police have charged a mother and two others with murder after a 3-month-old baby died while being wrapped in a damp blanket and placed in front of an air conditioner.
On Tuesday, Aug. 6, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call at a Budget Inn hotel at 1616 Gordon Highway concerning “an unknown situation” shortly after 2:00 a.m.
When they arrived, authorities discovered infant Josiah Noel Seright wrapped in a wet blanket inside a car seat next to an air conditioning unit inside the hotel. According to reports, the unit was allegedly set to 61 degrees for an unknown period while the baby’s mother, September De’asia Seright, 19, and two other adults, Lamisha Diane Seright, 42, and Bennie Antonio Nash, 39, remained in the room and lounged on a couch and bed.
The baby was sent to Wellstar MCG Health for treatment and pronounced dead at 2:37 a.m., according to the case report.
While the case is still being investigated, authorities say the baby died of hypothermia and respiratory failure, according to WJBF, The Augusta Chronicle, and The Augusta Press.
Hypothermia happens when a body is subjected to “cold, wet, or windy conditions,” according to the Cleveland Clinic’s website.
“Eventually, with sustained exposure to cold conditions, your body expends its stored energy and your body temperature begins to plummet. Hypothermia is a medical emergency that requires prompt treatment,” the Cleveland Clinic notes, stressing that “babies have the biggest surface area for their weight and lose heat the fastest.”
The three adults have been detained and charged with second-degree cruelty to children and second-degree murder, according to the case report. PEOPLE has contacted the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
If you suspect child abuse, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week in over 170 languages.