Mom Passed Out Drunk And Suffocated Baby Before Sister, 6, Tried To Revive Her

Two years after losing another baby in her bed while drunk, a British mother drank so much that she lost consciousness and suffocated her child. Following the death of her five-month-old baby, Claire Ross, 39, was on trial in Nyon, Switzerland this week for negligent homicide.

On both occasions, the mother fell asleep drunk in bed with her infants, however, the cause of the first child's death in 2018 was not known. Charges were withdrawn in that instance, and the court heard that the baby's demise may have been caused by a natural cause. After being found guilty in a drink-driving case involving a different child, Ross, who had recently moved to the town from St Helens, made an appearance in the ECHO.

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She had been four and a half times over the legal limit while operating a vehicle with her toddler inside.

Although there was no one else in the car when they checked, Ross told the cops that her then three-year-old daughter was in the back seat. It turned out that her husband, Ian Ross, had driven to the accident scene, picked up the girl, and then left his wife behind to wait for the breakdown services.

Image: Liverpool ECHO

After that incident, her husband obtained employment in Switzerland, where the family relocated. After drinking, she woke up in 2018 to discover her two-month-old baby dead in bed with her.

In February 2020, Ross and her husband welcomed a new child. In July 2020, Ross binge drank, and after turning on the TV for her then-six-year-old elder daughter, she put her five-month-old to bed. Her body was allegedly on top of the baby's when she passed out on the bed, according to Swiss prosecutors.

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The younger sister's cries for help woke up the oldest girl, but she was unable to wake her mother. Before hurrying to ask a neighbor for assistance, the girl was able to free her sister and put her in a stroller.

The neighbor, who was still unable to wake Ross, dialed 911, and the infant was rushed to the hospital, where it was eventually confirmed dead. Suffocation was listed as the cause of death in autopsy reports.

Image: Liverpool ECHO

The district court in Nyon filed a negligent homicide case against Ross. Ross was said to have been pulled over for drunk driving again in August 2020.

Prosecutor Jean-Marie Ruede stated in court during the hearing that the five-month-old girl's death was "a remake in every respect" of the first baby's demise in 2018. According to clinical assessments, Ross "drowns her mental ill-being" with heavy drinking, the speaker claimed.

When Ross was allowed to speak in front of the judges, she said, "I recognized and acknowledged that I had no control over drinking." She claimed to have been sober since October 2020 and that, even though "the reconstruction phase" was still ongoing, her family was now at "peace."

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Although the child was taken from her custody and she now receives supervised visitation, the court heard that Ross has now given birth to a fourth child. The oldest girl was later given back to her family, but the court was also informed that she was being watched over by a child psychologist and was "doing well."

On Tuesday, judges are expected to pronounce judgments and impose sentences.