Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced that a 33-year-old Lumberton woman whose young son died earlier this year after she became impaired and passed out on top of him has been indicted on a homicide charge.
Antoinette King, of Dove Court, was indicted by a Burlington County Grand Jury on charges of Manslaughter (Second Degree) and Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Second Degree).
The indictment was returned May 14 and signed by Prosecutor Coffina. An arraignment will be scheduled soon in Superior Court in Mount Holly.
Authorities were called to King’s home on January 19 at approximately 8:30 p.m. on a report of an unconscious adult female and an unconscious infant male.
The investigation revealed that a relative inside the home discovered King lying on the toddler and called for help after finding them both to be unresponsive. The investigation further revealed that King had been drinking alcohol earlier that evening and had also taken an illicit opioid-based drug.
King was successfully administered Narcan, but her son, 13-month-old Jerimiah, could not be revived. Both subjects were transported to Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly, where Jerimiah was pronounced dead.
An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined that Jerimiah died as a result of compression asphyxia.
King was charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Child immediately following Jerimiah’s death. The charges were upgraded to homicide after investigators received the results of toxicology tests performed on blood drawn from King following the incident.
King is being prosecuted by BCPO Assistant Prosecutor Bob Van Gilst, supervisor of the Major Crimes Unit – Violent Crimes Section. The investigation was conducted by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and the Lumberton Township Police Department. The lead investigators are BCPO Detective Tony Luyber and LTPD Detective Kevin Wright.
An indictment is an accusation. Defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.