Mother from Muncie sentenced to 16 years in prison because her baby died in the same bed

MUNCIE – A Muncie mother has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for subjecting her young daughter to unsafe sleeping practices that resulted in the child’s death.

Delaware County Third District Court Judge Douglas Mawhorr sentenced Tricia Cavanaugh to 14 years in prison and two years probation for neglect of a dependent person resulting in great bodily injury.

In June 2016, Muncie police officers were called to Tricia Cavanaugh's home after she reported that her four-month-old daughter was not breathing.

When officers arrived, Cavanaugh was crying hysterically and attempting to perform CPR on her daughter, Celina Miller.

Celina was immediately taken to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital. She was pronounced dead an hour later.

Officers who responded to the call reported that Cavanaugh appeared to be intoxicated when they arrived.

Cavanaugh told officers that her baby was lying face down in bed next to her when she woke up that morning.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Cavanaugh was repeatedly told about the dangers of co-sleeping with Celina. Nursing staff in the maternity ward said that despite this information, they found Cavanaugh sleeping in bed with Celina at the hospital.

DCS records showed that Cavanaugh had been warned in January 2015 not to sleep in the same bed as her then youngest child.

She also had a history of substance abuse. Cavanaugh reportedly tested positive for illegal substances during a DCS interview at the time, and her then-two-month-old child was temporarily removed from their home.

According to the affidavit, a search of Cavanaugh's prescription history revealed that she had filled a prescription for 90 tablets of hydrocodone three days before Celina's death and a prescription for 90 tablets of gabapentin – a drug used to treat epilepsy and nerve pain – one day before Celina's death.

A search of Cavanaugh's home revealed a bottle of Gabapentin with 72 pills left in it, as well as several empty medication bottles, including two bottles of Gabapentin, six bottles of Hydrocodone, and one bottle of Diazepam.

Cavanaugh's prescription history showed that she had not received a prescription for diazepam since April 21, 2016, and had not received a prescription for oxycodone at all in the year before Celina's death.

Celina's medical records revealed that she tested positive for opiates at birth and had to be admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital for newborn weaning.

During the sentencing, Cavanaugh referred to herself as a “supermom,” a remark that Judge Mawhorr immediately dismissed, replying, “I’m not so sure about that.”

After the verdict, Delaware County Attorney Eric Hoffman said:

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