ROCKINGHAM — A local woman is facing charges related to the death of her infant child.
According to the Rockingham Police Department, officers responded to a March 31 911 call at a Brook Street home regarding an unresponsive baby.
When officers arrived, they reportedly found a three-month old not breathing. The child was later pronounced dead by EMS personnel.
RPD detectives reportedly initiated an investigation, coordinating with Child Protective Services and the medical examiner's office.
After conducting interviews and reviewing evidence, police say investigators obtained an arrest warrant for the child’s mother, 37-year-old Tenika Lashell McDonald, charging her with voluntary manslaughter and negligent child abuse with serious bodily injury.
The warrant was issued April 1, according to court records, and police say McDonald was taken into custody in South Carolina and is being held without bond in the Horry County Jail.
As of 1 p.m. April 8, no court date in Richmond County had been set.
Records with the N.C. Department of Adult Correction show McDonald was convicted of misdemeanor larceny in 2017.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
