Baby found dead, being eaten by roaches

A US mother has been arrested after her five-month-old baby (above) was found dead and being eaten by cockroaches.

Brittany Cherokee Dawn Bell, 27, is facing child neglect charges after the disturbing discovery in January, reported TV station News on 6.

Bell had called Bartlesville police on Jan 8 to report that her baby Alice was not breathing.

A medical examiner later found abrasions on Alice's legs, face and head caused by cockroaches that had infested the apartment.

Investigators believe the baby had been left on the floor, just 3m from where Bell said she had fallen asleep on the couch, reported NY Daily News.

During that time, the baby somehow stopped breathing.

NIBBLED

Before Bell realised her baby was dead, Alice's body was described as being nibbled on by crawling insects in the apartment.

She suggested the baby might have been smothered by her 18-month-old twins out of jealousy after she had fallen asleep while watching a movie with them.

Her twins were removed from her custody following Alice's death.

Police told News on 6 she has two other children but does not have custody of them.

Detective Jim Warring, who interviewed Bell, said: "She was just pretty matter-of-fact and, kind of, almost joking, wasn't that big of a deal to her."

An autopsy listed the cause of death as sudden unexplained infant death with the manner of death undetermined.

This article was first published on April 25, 2015.
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