Pa. Mom Accused Of Smothering Baby While High, Drunk

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (AP) - Authorities say a Pennsylvania woman under the influence of alcohol and marijuana rolled over on her 2-month-old son and passed out, smothering him to death.

Arissa Ward, of Middletown, faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child in the Dec. 30 death of her son.

Court documents show the 23-year-old told police that she'd been drinking alcohol and smoking pot before lying on the couch with her baby. Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico says the baby had marijuana in his system from his mother's breastmilk.

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Ward's attorney Casey Grey Shore says he has no comment at this time.

Marsico says co-sleeping is dangerous and deaths are on the rise. He says the county is forming a task force to look at the matter.

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