Police charged Laci with child endangerment, a Class B felony.
Sargent Paul Parizek says it’s clear that the mother had no intention of killing her child, but the fact that she left her daughter alone for an extended period of time is what makes it criminal. He says that her actions serve as evidence of “significant failure in parenting,” which ultimately could have prevented RemmeLyn’s death.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, sleep-related deaths are one of the most common causes for infant mortality. A study by the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that more than 3,500 babies in the U.S. die each year as a result of unsafe sleeping environments.
The AAP advises parents to always place infants in a crib with a firm and approved mattress. Babies can sleep in the parents’ room for up to a year, but never sleep with the infant in the parents’ bed. They also say less is more—meaning, all the baby needs is a fitted bed sheet that covers the mattress. Soft items like pillows, blankets, plush toys or crib liners can be dangerous to a sleeping infant.
Laci is currently being held in prison for leaving her child unattended as she slept on a changing table. Her bail is set at $100,000.
“Idk how I’m gonna make it thru the days without her,” Laci Taylor wrote, less than two weeks after RemmeLyn’s death. “She is always in my heart, mind and in every thought that I have day in and day out. I go to sleep and her smile is the last thing that I see. I wake up in the morning feeling guilty that I had slept at all with her face and cry in my head.”
“I have no ounce in my body that blames my wife at all,” said Taylor’s husband, Don. “She was actually getting my daughter a bottle, and that’s what happened, and that’s why she wasn’t in the room at that point.”
The baby was left unattended for about 15 minutes, according to Sgt. Paul Parizek, a spokesperson for the Des Moines police.
Laci Taylor
Our hearts break for the couple’s loss, and we pray that RemmeLyn’s tragic story may serve as a caution to other moms who often make this same mistake.