Mom dodges prison for being passed out on drugs as son froze to death

Mom dodges prison for being passed out on drugs as son froze to death

A North Carolina woman will not serve prison time after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of her 3-year-old son, who froze to death on the front porch of their home after she “passed out” on drugs.

Jamie Lyn Basinger, 24, of Morganton, received a suspended sentence of 19 to 32 months with 3 years of supervised probation after pleading guilty in connection to the death of Landyn Melton in March, the Charlotte Observer reports.

A judge on Monday also ordered Basinger, who spent eight months in jail after being charged in April, to comply with all conditions of a substance abuse assessment, perform 72 hours of community service and adhere to all orders from the Department of Social Services regarding her other child, according to the newspaper.

Prosecutors said Basinger’s usage of methamphetamine two days before the child’s death, as well as smoking marijuana the night before, led to the boy’s death.

“While she was passed out inside the home, by her own admission sleeping harder than normal, Landyn was freezing to death,” Assistant District Attorney Michelle Lippert told Judge Nathanial Poovey.

The boy was found dead on March 15 — one day after celebrating his third birthday — after a neighbor called police to report a toddler lying outside on the porch, the Morganton News Herald reports. Basinger’s boyfriend, Joshua Steffey, answered the door before getting Basinger from inside the residence. Both Steffey and Basinger later admitted to smoking meth two days earlier and marijuana the night before, Lippert said.

Smudged fingerprints on the porch’s glass door indicated that the boy had tried to get back inside the home after getting out of the house the previous night. Lippert said temperatures at the time were roughly 21 degrees without a wind chill, according to News Herald.

“She was supposed to be supervising this child,” Lippert said. “He had just turned 3, he was outside. By her own admission, she was sleeping harder than normal. She didn’t hear him — didn’t hear him leave the room, didn’t hear him leave the house, didn’t hear him banging on the door. She was asleep while he was freezing to death.”

As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dropped a felony child abuse charge against Basinger. Her mother said Monday’s hearing did little to provide closure.

“She’s going to have to live with this the rest of her life,” Brenda Basinger told the News Herald. “She’s going to have a battle — we all are.”Still, Brenda Basinger said her grandson would be pleased by the outcome.

“If Landyn was here, he would be happy right about now,” she told the newspaper. “Happy that Mommy gets to come home.”