The parents of a Texas infant have been arrested after an autopsy revealed the child died due to the "toxic effects of methamphetamine in an unsafe sleeping environment," according to the Ellis County Sheriff's Office.
On Saturday, March 19, sheriff’s deputies arrived at the couple’s home on Lone Elm Road in reference to a child not breathing. Deputies arrived to find a female infant being loaded into an ambulance, said the sheriff's office.
Emergency personnel performed CPR and the child was transported to a hospital where lengthy life-saving measures were provided.
The child was pronounced dead at 11:16 a.m. and an investigator conducted preliminary interviews with the child's parents, Shawn Lankford, 43, and Heather Williams, 30.
An autopsy conducted by the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office revealed the infant’s cause of death was due to “toxic effects of methamphetamine in an unsafe sleeping environment," according to the Ellis County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff’s office obtained charged the couple with murder, they were subsequently arrested on Tuesday.
Both have been booked into the Wayne McCollum Detention Center on a $1-million bond each.
