Baby Girl Died After Intoxicated Woman Co-Sleeps With Her: Police

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis woman faces charges in the October death of a baby girl in her care after she slept with the infant following a night of drinking, authorities said.

Leann S. Farkarlun, 38, was charged with second-degree manslaughter and ordered to appear in court. Farkarlun was not in custody and is scheduled to make her first court appearance on April 13.

The charges stem from the death of a 5-month-old girl in a Minneapolis apartment building on Oct. 31, which was the result of Farkarlun choosing to co-sleep with the child after a night of drinking, according to the crimincal complaint.

Farkarlun told officers she was caring for the girl while the child's mother was out of town, according to the criminal complaint. Farkarlun told police that she went out with friends that night, and when she returned home late, decided to sleep in the same bed as the girl, according to investigators.

When Farkarlun got up to use the bathroom, she found the girl unresponsive with blood coming from her nose, according to the criminal complaint. Farkarlun told her teenage son to call 911. Police came, and the child was hospitalized and later pronounced dead.

Farkarlun admitted to drinking alcohol that night, according to the criminal complaint. A blood draw on the morning of Nov. 1 found that she had a blood alcohol content of 0.14, well over the 0.08 legal limit to drive.

An autopsy confirmed that Farkarlun's co-sleeping caused the girl's death, according to the criminal complaint.