Mom of Drug-Addicted Baby Faces Charges

By Patrick Malone, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.

Mar. 24–The district attorney’s office has filed felony child abuse charges against a mother who gave birth to an allegedly drug-addicted baby in December.

The charges raise questions about how prosecutors will proceed in the case of another mother whose newborn baby died last year from drug exposure in the womb.

In the newer case, a warrant was issued recently for the arrest of Malisa Ann Bayer, 38, on charges of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury, possession of cocaine, unlawful use of the drug, criminal impersonation and forgery. The child survived.

The accusations against Bayer surfaced Dec. 28, when she gave birth to a daughter. Both Bayer and the child tested positive for cocaine at Parkview Medical Center, according to an arrest affidavit by Pueblo police officer Jeffrey Shay.

A doctor at the hospital determined that Bayer’s alleged drug use had adversely affected the health of her newborn daughter, Shay reported.

The forgery and criminal impersonation charges were filed against Bayer because she allegedly claimed to be another woman during an interview with police and in hospital paperwork. Bayer remains at large and wanted on the warrant.

A caseworker for the Pueblo County Department of Social Services told investigators that the agency had previous involvement with Bayer, but the affidavit did not detail the nature of Bayer’s past dealing with social services.

Past involvement with the Department of Social Services is a common thread that binds Bayer’s case and that of 20-year-old Monique Frolene Sanchez.

In November, Sanchez gave birth to a son, Luke Godinez-Sanchez Jr., who died soon after his birth. An autopsy revealed that the baby had lethal levels of cocaine in his system, according to Pueblo County Coroner James Kramer.

Sources familiar with the Sanchez investigation said the Department of Social Services had removed three children from Sanchez’s custody before Luke’s birth because of her drug abuse. The children were reportedly placed with relatives.

Prosecutors have faced a quandary over how to proceed with the case against Sanchez, because Colorado’s legal definition of a child does not extend to a fetus. No charges have been filed against Sanchez to date.

Police reportedly have finished their investigation into Luke’s death and forwarded it to the district attorney’s office with a recommendation that charges should be filed against Sanchez.

District Attorney Bill Thiebaut said Thursday that his office continues to review the Sanchez investigation, but hasn’t reached a decision what she should be charged with, if anything.

“There’s a theory to endorse child endangerment charges against women who use drugs prenatally, but it runs up against Constitutional questions that we’re still considering,” Thiebaut said. “There are many difficult and complex legal questions surrounding this case.”

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.

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