MUNCIE — A Muncie mother has been charged with reckless homicide after her child died in her bed after she fell asleep while breastfeeding in October 2023.
This is the second child to die of this mother after a similar incident occurred in 2020.
According to court documents, Aaliyah Lykins faces one count of reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony, and one count of neglect of a dependent, a Level 6 felony.
According to court documents, Lykins’ child was pronounced dead on Oct. 30, 2020, after he was found co-sleeping with Lykins in bed. At the time, Lykins reportedly told officers that “she should not have placed (the child) in bed with her and that she knew it was wrong.”
Lykins was not charged with that 2020 case, although investigators had prepared a probable cause affidavit.
On Oct. 9, 2023, personnel with the Muncie Fire Department and Muncie Police Department responded to Lykins’s home in east Muncie after she called reporting the child was not breathing. Lykins told the 911 dispatcher that she was breastfeeding the infant and fell asleep, saying, “Oh no, I did it again.”
When officials arrived, the child was “found to be limp, with no signs of respiration” and was later pronounced dead.
“Lykins was fully aware of the danger of co-sleeping with her infant… as she had a prior born child die while co-sleeping,” the court documents noted.
