Pregnant Woman, 21, Charged With Murder For Starving 2-Month-Old Baby

Brittany Marie Wiest, from Smyrna, Tennessee, is 24-weeks-pregnant and was charged with murder on Wednesday following the death of her 2-month-old baby last year. The baby died of starvation and dehydration, weighing under five pounds at the time of death.

According to WKRN, Brittany Marie Wiest, and aspiring model, was charged with murder following the 2014 death of her baby, who was jut 59-days-old. The baby’s death was the result of severe starvation and dehydration. The police report indicates that the baby weighed less than five pounds when he was found unresponsive, but was over six pounds at the time of birth.

The Daily Mail reports that the baby, Anakin Leroy-Michael Wiest, was found unresponsive in his bed on April 8, 2014. Brittany and her live-in boyfriend, who is not the baby’s father, called 911 after discovering that the baby was unresponsive. When emergency crews arrived, Detective Rick Hall says the mother had “no clue” what caused the infant’s death.

“She honestly had no clue what had occurred, why the baby had passed away. She just woke up, found the child in the condition it was in and called us.”

However, it was evident to doctors what had caused the death. The baby was found to be severely dehydrated, and the cause of death was deemed a homicide by starvation. Police did not initially arrest Wiest, spending almost a year to build their case against the woman. In the meantime, Wiest became pregnant with her third child. In addition to Anakin, Wiest had an older daughter who has been taken into state custody.

It appears that Brittany was an aspiring model and frequently posted photos to her social media accounts. It is unclear at this time why the woman allowed her child to starve or if mental issues were to blame, as the woman seemed shocked and confused as to how the baby had passed away.

Similarly, as the Inquisitr previously reported, a 22-day-old baby was found starved to death in a vehicle as the parents pigged out inside a buffet. The starved baby was also severely dehydrated and appeared not to have taken in any sustenance for hours. Meanwhile, the parents were stuffing their faces at the Golden Corral Buffet while the baby starved to death in the car. Both parents were charged with murder and arrested following the startling incident.

Wiest is now being held on a $100,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on February 17 to answer the charges.