ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A St. Johns County woman is facing negligent manslaughter charges more than a year after the death of a 4-month-old baby, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office.
Sherrell Proctor, 34, was arrested on charges of negligent manslaughter in the child's death Monday morning. Police are calling the baby's death a homicide, resulting from Proctor's alleged negligence.
The morning of the baby's death, on Sep. 24, 2022, one of Proctor's children found the baby unresponsive on the couch and notified an adult.
At approximately 9:25 a.m., St. Johns County dispatch received a 911 call from the adult who said she was taking a newborn baby to Fire Station 14 for assistance, according to an arrest report. The woman advised that the baby was not breathing, and was cold and unresponsive.
When the adult arrived, members of St. Johns County Fire Rescue administered life-saving measures to the baby. SJCFR took the baby to Flagler Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Medical personnel said the baby's core body temperature was 93.2 degrees when she arrived at the hospital.
The arrest warrant states that Proctor, who is presumed to be the baby's mother, didn't learn of the baby's condition until she was on the way to the hospital.
Investigators said Proctor told them the baby contracted a respiratory illness days before her death, and she tried to take the baby to a doctor, but was refused service because she was late.
However, detectives received a list of Proctor's medical visits which revealed the baby was taken to the doctor only twice between July 1, 2022, and September 23, 2022, with four canceled or no-show appointments, and there was no record of an appointment for the baby the day before her death.
Proctor said she planned on taking the child to the Flagler Hospital Emergency Room after she was "refused" to be seen, but decided not to because there was a two-hour wait, the report states. Investigators said Proctor did not call the fire department because she "didn't know they did that," the report said.
The baby wouldn't breathe whenever Proctor laid her down to go to sleep, so she stayed up with the baby the night before her death, the report said.
A further investigation revealed the baby was living in a home with "deplorable conditions" and "unsafe sleeping conditions," along with at least seven other children, according to the report.
An autopsy ruled the baby's death undetermined, however, the autopsy revealed the baby had contracted rhinovirus infection with chronic pulmonary inflammation and was dehydrated and underweight at the time of her death, the report states.
The examination found probable cause for Proctor's arrest, stating the baby's death was the result of Proctor's culpable negligence.
Proctor is currently being held in St. Johns County Jail on a $100,000 bond.