DAMIEN CASEY - 9 Days - Richlands VA

An investigation into the death of a Tazewell County, Virginia infant has led to murder charges against the baby's mother.
26-year-old Brandi Nicole Casey is charged with felony homicide, possession of drugs and child endangerment.


The Richlands Police Department says the investigation started last
year,
when officers went to Casey's home and found her nine day old son
Damien not breathing.
The baby was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy was done the infant, which found that his mother's use of prescription drugs caused his death.
Casey is in the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail without bond.
http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9030598

TAZEWELL – A young Richlands woman will serve five years for her role in the death of her nine-day- old child.
Brandi Nicole Casey, headed pleaded guilty to felony child abuse and
neglect and possession schedule II narcotics. She also pleaded guilty to
two misdemeanor charges involving distribution of drugs.
Casey was before the court for sentencing July 20 and Commonwealth’s
attorney Dennis Lee asked for her to be given the maximum sentence of 20
years. Casey was originally charged with killing her infant son but
that charge was dismissed after the coroner’s report indicated the baby
died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Lee based the child abuse and neglect charge on the fact Casey was using
drugs on the night her child died and had used drugs during her
pregnancy. Investigator Richard Brown testified that information from
Clinch Valley Medical Center showed the child was born with oxycodone in
its system.
The report from the medical examiner showed the child had benzodiazipam
in its system at the time of death. Brown said Casey told him she had
tried to breast feed the child on four or five occasions.
Defense Attorney Ann-Margaret Brammer argued that no one knew what
caused SIDS and “thousands of babies die from it each year.’ Casey said
the doctor told her the baby just forgot to breath.
Brammer said Casey had no previous problems with social services
concerning her children and her problems stemmed from drugs. She asked
that Casey be sent to the detention and diversion centers.
Brammer said there was no evidence Casey rolled over on her baby or did
anything that contributed to the child’s death. She said Casey pleaded
to the felony abuse charge because of her drug use the night the child
died.
A tearful Casey testified that things were chaotic the night the child
died because her mother-in-law had died in her sleep the previous night
and she had to explain to her four-year-old why grandma wouldn’t wake
up.
She said her grandmother, uncle and two other children were all in the
home at the time the incident happened. Judge Teresa Chafins said it was
one of the saddest cases she had dealt with.
She said Casey would have to live with the death of one child and having
two others removed from her care. The judge said she was giving Casey a
chance to get off drugs and straighten her life out.
“But it’s also my duty to punish you,’ she said. She imposed 10 years on
the felony child abuse charge and suspended six. She suspended four of
the five years imposed for the drug possession and two 12 month
sentences on the misdemeanor drug charges.
She suspended both of the 12 month sentences, leaving Casey with five years to serve and five years of supervised probation.

http://www.swvatoday.com/news/article/richlands_woman_to_serve_five_years_for_childs_death/10716/