Trigger Warning: This article contains references to alleged child abuse or neglect that some readers may find distressing.

A mother’s struggle with substance addiction turned fatal for her newborn infant, and now the Wisconsin woman is facing criminal charges that could send her to prison for the rest of her life.

According to the official police complaint cited by the KWQC, a Pierce County sheriff’s sergeant responded to an emergency call on March 14. The caller reported that a 3-week-old child was not breathing. The officer arrived at the Trimbelle home to find the infant boy pale, turning blue, and displaying a dark substance around his mouth and nose.

Emergency responders rushed to the scene. The boy was unresponsive, without a pulse, and turning blue. Paramedics attempted CPR on the newborn at the scene, but he was declared dead shortly after.

The death of the infant in March in Wisconsin has led to criminal charges and the arrest of both parents following an investigation into the incident.

Following the infant’s death, the child’s mother, 23-year-old Jessie Lee Kittelson, and her partner, 26-year-old Taylor Jae Olson, were arrested.

They both face multiple charges, including first-degree reckless homicide and chronic neglect of a child.

The mother of the infant admitted to investigators that she had smoked methamphetamine throughout her pregnancy and even just days before while breastfeeding her infant son.

Kittelson alleged that she attempted to clear her system by pumping and discarding her breast milk for 48 hours after using the substance. 

She told police she tried other methods as well. For example, instead of feeding her infant boy fresh breast milk, she fed him previously stored breast milk pumped while she was drug-free. She even expressed confusion over how the child was exposed and claimed she did not know what went wrong.

According to the complaint, internet search records also revealed that Kittelson had used Google to research how long methamphetamine remains in breast milk before the infant’s death.

An autopsy of the Wisconsin child later confirmed that methamphetamine toxicity was the primary reason behind the death.

Investigators state that Olson admitted to purchasing the methamphetamine that the couple allegedly used together. If convicted, both Kittelson and Olson face up to 60 years in prison. Their initial appearance in Pierce County court is scheduled for Sept. 2.

After the reason behind the tragic passing of the child came to light, public outcry intensified online, with observers condemning the parents for extreme negligence.

“Oh my word! I didn’t even drink any caffeine for the whole 3 years while breastfeeding,” one commentator on Facebook wrote.

Another opined, “Anyone who smokes meth in a household will cause everyone in the household to test positive for meth. All the children in the home will test positive for meth if a parent smokes it in the house. If you smoke it while you breastfeed your child most definitely is positive for meth and I would love to know how the hospital didn’t know anything when the child was born. There is always signs with meth addiction. These people dont sleep. This poor child was probably born addicted to meth and there should have been signed also they are normally born premature.”

A separate user added, “God bless the child, so sad . So sick people do and you did this. At lease the child is in Heaven .”

Disclaimer: Inquisitr could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available.