Mom, 22, Accused of Killing 1-Year-Old Son by Placing Lethal Liquid Mixture Through His Feeding Tube

Kaitlynn Dominick has been charged with manslaughter and aggravated child abuse

NEED TO KNOW

• A mother is accused of killing her 17-month-old son
• Kaitlynn Dominick allegedly placed a lethal liquid mixture through the child’s feeding tube
• She has been charged with manslaughter and aggravated child abuse

A mother in Alabama is accused of killing her 17-month-old son by placing a lethal liquid mixture through his feeding tube.

Kaitlynn Dominick has been charged with manslaughter and aggravated child abuse over the death of her child, who died at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital on May 5, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) said in a news release.

Dominick’s son had a medical condition “that required the use of a surgically implanted gastric feeding tube for nourishment,” according to the BCSO.

Dominick, 22, brought the child to the hospital on May 4. He died the next morning, and a physician at the hospital later reported concerns to police tied to the child’s laboratory results, authorities said.

The mother “provided inconsistent statements regarding the incident,” the BCSO said. Police added that Dominic later “admitted to mixing a liquid solution and administering it to her son, leading to his death.”

The mixture consisted of table salt and another undisclosed liquid, Cleveland 19 News and Fox 10 News reported, citing a criminal complaint. 

“There was a concoction, a liquid mixture, that was introduced into the child’s preexisting feeding tube that then led to this medical emergency that ultimately led to the child’s death,” BCSO Capt. Justin Correa told Cleveland 19 News.

“In this mixture, the level of ingredients that were given to this child — maybe to an adult, a normal, healthy adult, might not have presented the way it did — but of course a child, a seventeen-month-old who has preexisting medical conditions, I think it could have [led] to a greater medical emergency,” added Correa.

Prosecutors have accused Dominick of intentionally harming her son so she could be relieved of his care, Cleveland 19 News and Fox 10 News reported.

“I do believe that she did know that this would harm the child … because she knew that if the child was taken to the hospital that there would be adequate [medical professionals] who would then be tending to that child,” Teresa Heinz, the Baldwin County chief assistant district attorney, told Cleveland 19 News. 

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Dominick was admitted to the Baldwin County jail on May 26 and released two days later, inmate records viewed by PEOPLE show.

The Baldwin County Coroner’s Office (BCCO) and the ADHR are assisting the BCSO in their investigation.

PEOPLE has reached out to the BCSO, the BCCO and the ADHR for further comment. It is not immediately clear if Dominick has legal representation to comment on her behalf.