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Crystal Czyzewski, 35, of Griswold, Connecticut, has been accused of suffocating her 6-week-old son with a blanket for 20 minutes and then waiting hours before calling 911.
Czyzewski was arrested on charges of manslaughter and risk of injury to a minor Monday. After being arraigned at Norwich Superior Court on Tuesday, she has been put in jail with a $550,000 bail, according to The Norwich Bulletin.
In an interview, Czyzewski admitted to suffocating her son "until he was dead" on Nov. 17 in the morning, Connecticut state police said in an arrest warrant affidavit, according to The Associated Press. The affidavit also said her 5-year-old child and baby were crying and it was "too much."
Czyzewski said when she gave birth, she was "stressed out and hadn't planned on having a child," the affidavit states. Her stress was "due to life" and the responsibility of caring for two children, The Norwich Bulletin reported.
Originally, Czyzewski told police that she left the baby in a swing and went on a walk with a friend, according to NBC Connecticut. After she told investigators she lied and also told her mother to lie, the affidavit said.
Czyzewski's mother, Linda Kennison, told law enforcement her baby had been alive all day and was experiencing breathing issues after being fed, Fox 61 reported. However, when police talked to her again, she rescinded her statement, saying she knew the baby had not been breathing all day but hadn't known her daughter suffocated the child.
Police said to make the baby look alive, Czyzewski and Kennison concocted a plan to put food on his face.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.
Lawyer David Gaccione said he represents Czyzewski in an unrelated criminal case and is not involved in the manslaughter case. It was not immediately clear if she has a lawyer in the case of her child's death who could respond to the allegations.
After suffocating the baby, she left him in a swing for the rest of the day, state police said. Around 9 p.m., she brought the baby into her room, placed him in a bassinet and then called 911 to report he was "barely breathing," the affidavit said.
The child was brought to an area hospital and later flown to Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford, where he arrived in cardiac arrest, state police said. Staff appeared to revive the baby, but he could not breathe on his own and was pronounced dead on Sunday, the affidavit said.
Czyzewski is scheduled to appear in state court in New London on Dec. 13.
