MILWAUKEE–The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office charged 22-year-old Makenzie Critton in the death of her 7-month-old baby.
Milwaukee Police found the 7-month-old unresponsive near 25th St. and Hadley St. around 11:20 a.m. on July 27.
According to the criminal complaint, Critton is accused of repeatedly abusing the infant between June 1 and July 27.
Critton called 911 around 11:20 a.m. on July 27 to report that her baby “is not moving” and “not responding to anything”. Critton was instructed to perform CPR until first responders arrived.
After 20 minutes of CPR, first responders regained a faint pulse in the newborn and immediately transported the baby to the Children’s Hospital.
The 7-month-old was pronounced dead at 12:26 p.m. at the hospital.
In the complaint, an officer’s observation said that Critton seemed emotionless at the scene and at the hospital. That same officer asked her if anything else happened.
According to the officer, Critton responded with “I got frustrated” and explained that she was overwhelmed with the crying and smothered the newborn. She claimed that she had smothered the baby in the past, but that it always came back.
Critton was then taken into police custody.
The complaint said that during an interview with detectives, after a late night of partying, Critton woke up around 10 a.m. to the baby crying. She said she tried to feed the baby, but the crying did not stop. Critton said she smothered the newborn into her chest for 10 to 15 minutes, until the baby appeared blue and stopped moving.
Critton said that she later woke up and noticed that the baby did not regain color and that she did not see any signs of life.
According to Critton’s interview with investigators, it was “normal” for the baby to appear blue, and she said she had previously suffocated the 7-month-old.
Investigators say she admitted to suffocating her child a week or two earlier, but the child’s father walked in and stopped the smothering.
Upon further investigation, detectives found witnesses who allegedly saw Critton abuse the newborn on multiple occasions.
The infant’s grandmother told investigators that she saw Critton cover the baby’s nose and mouth to stop it from crying on June 12. She did not report this to police, but claims she was concerned that Critton would do it again.
The 7-month-old’s father said that he was the primary caretaker of the infant and that under Critton’s care, she would often leave the baby in soiled diapers for long periods.
In the complaint, another witness told detectives that they saw Critton repeatedly shake the newborn to stop it from crying. The witness also claimed that she saw Critton hit the baby across the face when it cried.
Critton is charged with a Class A felony of physical abuse of a child, repeated acts causing death. If convicted, Critton faces a life sentence in prison.
