Lexington mother accused of using clothes, blankets to kill baby, detective testifies
A Lexington woman charged with murder in the death of her infant son admitted to investigators that she intentionally killed the boy by covering him with blankets and clothes, a police detective testified Thursday.
Sammantha M. Moore, 32, told investigators that she’d killed her son because she felt someone was hurting him, and that if she killed him, no one would be able to hurt him anymore, Lexington police Detective Paul Hogan testified during a preliminary hearing in Fayette County District Court on Thursday.
Moore told police that at about 2:15 a.m. on Dec. 23, she’d put blankets and clothing on top of her son, as well as a kitchen bar stool to prevent him from getting free, Hogan said. She then went to bed in her Centre Parkway apartment.
Moore checked on her son at about 10:30 that morning, saw that he was dead and then called police, Hogan said.
Moore’s son, Ocean Moore, was 9 months and 18 days old, according to the Fayette County Coroner’s Office. The boy died of suffocation, Hogan testified Thursday.
Moore was crying but calm when she talked to investigators on Dec. 23, Hogan said. She would not tell police who she thought was hurting her son.
Moore also told police that she’d put lithium in her son’s food, Hogan said. While the form of lithium was not discussed during the hearing, lithium can be used as medication for mental health issues like mania and bipolar disorder, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Less than a week after her Dec. 23 arrest, Moore was charged with third-degree assault of a corrections officer in the Fayette County Detention Center. A corrections officer testified Thursday that Moore threw her into a table and scratched her with her nails after being told that she could not be taken to a hospital.
Fayette County District Court Judge John Tackett found that there was enough probable cause to move both cases forward to a grand jury for indictment. If indicted, Moore’s case will move to circuit court to be prepared for trial.
Tackett also decided not to lower Moore’s bond, which is $500,000 on the murder charge and $25,000 on the assault charge, according to the jail website.
