Indiana woman gets six-year term for infant death in car seat

An Indiana woman was sentenced on Oct. 6 to six years in prison after pleading guilty to reckless homicide in the death of her nine-day-old son, who prosecutors say was left strapped in a car seat for about 14 hours at a Lawrenceburg apartment in March 2024. The sentence is the maximum allowed under state law for the charge.

Dearborn County prosecutors said police were called to the home on March 3, 2024, after reports of an unresponsive infant. When family and friends discovered the baby, identified as Emmett Phillips, he was cold, blue and limp. People at the scene began performing CPR and Emmett was taken to St. Elizabeth Dearborn hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.

"The death of an infant is horrible and certainly tragic," Prosecutor Lynn Deddens said, "However, the circumstances of the death and the recklessness exhibited by Phillips-Steelsmith constitute Reckless Homicide." Court records say prosecutors built the case using surveillance video and witness statements. The records indicate Phillips-Steelsmith initially provided officers with a misleading timeline, was captured on video standing while others attempted resuscitation, and did not accompany...