Infant "ATUATASI" - 2 Months - Garden Grove CA

2-month-old died while mom was on drinking binge, prosecutors say

November 28, 2011 | 12:58pm

A
Garden Grove mother who allegedly allowed her baby boy to suffocate in a
pile of clothes after she went on a Halloween drinking binge will be
arraigned Tuesday in Santa Ana.

Corrina Atuatasi, 27, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, child
abuse and a sentencing enhancement for causing great bodily injury to a
child under the age of 5. She faces 12 years in prison if convicted,
Orange County prosecutors said.

Atuatasi allegedly left her 2-month-old child in her apartment while
she went outside to smoke a cigarette and to a neighbor's apartment for
drinks.

Prosecutors said the mother later returned and retrieved her son, put
him in a car seat and carried him to the neighbor's apartment, where
she continued drinking for several hours, leaving the baby in a bedroom
in the car seat, according to a statement from the Orange County
district attorney's office.

After Atuatasi returned home with the baby at about 4 a.m., the boy
ended up face-down in a pile of clothing, where he suffocated,
authorities said.

About two hours later, Atuatasi allegedly woke up and called 911 to
report that she could not find her baby. The child was dead by the time
emergency responders arrived.

Atuatasi had a blood alcohol level of .23% -- nearly three times the legal limit -- as of 8 a.m., prosecutors said.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/11/oc-mom-suffocate.html

Corrina Atuatasi Gets Year in Jail for Causing Baby Son's Halloween Suffocation Death

By Matt Coker
Thu., May 3 2012 at 2:04 PM

Over the objections of prosecutors, a mother who went on a drinking binge that ended with the suffocation death of her unattended 2-month-old baby was sentenced today at Westminster Justice Center to a year in jail. Senior Deputy District Attorney Susan Price argued that the seriousness 27-year-old Corrina Atuatasi's crimes and the fact that she endangered her children's lives before warranted a state prison stretch. The maximum penalty she faced was 12 years in the joint.

Atuatasi accepted a court offer to cop to felony involuntary manslaughter, felony child abuse and a sentencing enhancement for causing great bodily injury to a child under 5. After her year in jail, she is to be formally sentenced on Nov. 27 to an additional six months in a live-in alcohol treatment program and one year of a self-help program.

The night of Oct. 30, 2011, Atuatasi watched her baby boy, Aiden Galeai, while her husband and 2-year-old daughter were away visiting family. At one point, the mother left the infant alone in her apartment while she went outside to take a smoke break. A male neighbor then invited her to join his two buddies in his apartment.

Atuatasi started drinking with the trio before returning to her apartment to put Aiden in his car seat and carry him back to the neighbor's unit. The baby was left alone in a bedroom for the next several hours while Atuatasi pounded drinks.

She returned to her apartment with her child around 4 a.m. on Halloween. The baby wound up face down in a pile of clothing, although it is unclear if Atuatasi dropped him there and passed out or if he was purposely placed there. In any event, Aiden suffocated to death.

Atuatasi awoke around 6 a.m. and called 9-1-1 to report she could not find Aiden. Before police arrived, the mother moved her dead baby to the bed. At 9 a.m., she had a blood alcohol level on .23 percent and, after a Garden Grove Police investigation, was arrested.

The Orange County Probation Department had also recommended a prison sentence, according to the Orange County District Attorney's office.

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2012/05/corrina_atuatasi_suffocate_bab.php