Lainie Petersen
05-12-2004, 09:09 AM
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-drawer11.html
Police say baby died after mom stuffed her in drawer
May 11, 2004
BY ANNIE SWEENEY Staff Reporter
Before her baby girl was born, Aleshia Waites considered giving her up for
adoption, and when the infant was just weeks old, she asked family members
to take the child in, neighbors and authorities said.
On Saturday, the 26-year-old woman put the 2-month-old -- who was fussy and
wouldn't stop crying -- inside a dresser drawer, placed a pillow over her
head and then shut it, investigators said. Waites then fell asleep; when she
woke up the baby was not responsive, police said. The baby, Kellise, died
from suffocation.
When Mary Joseph, Waites' upstairs neighbor, found the child, she was lying
on her mother's bed, clad only in her white diaper. There was a red welt on
her cheek where she'd apparently struck the inside of the dresser, and her
lips were puckered.
"You know, like she was waiting on you to kiss her,'' said Joseph, 43.
On Monday, a judge ordered a tearful Waites, who's been charged with
first-degree murder, held on a $700,000 bond. Her two other children -- a
5-year-old girl and an 18-month-old boy -- were in the custody of a
relative.
Waites lived with the children in a basement apartment on the 6600 block of
South St. Lawrence.
A source who asked not to be identified said Waites contacted a social
service agency in February 2004 about giving Kellise -- who was not yet
born -- up for adoption. Waites allegedly changed her mind, and the agency
became concerned about the welfare of the children and contacted the
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
A DCFS investigation found the home to be safe, the source said.
DCFS also was contacted in 2002 after Waites allegedly struck her other
daughter. A relative took temporary custody of the child until DCFS approved
the girl's return to Waites, a DCFS spokeswoman said.
Police say baby died after mom stuffed her in drawer
May 11, 2004
BY ANNIE SWEENEY Staff Reporter
Before her baby girl was born, Aleshia Waites considered giving her up for
adoption, and when the infant was just weeks old, she asked family members
to take the child in, neighbors and authorities said.
On Saturday, the 26-year-old woman put the 2-month-old -- who was fussy and
wouldn't stop crying -- inside a dresser drawer, placed a pillow over her
head and then shut it, investigators said. Waites then fell asleep; when she
woke up the baby was not responsive, police said. The baby, Kellise, died
from suffocation.
When Mary Joseph, Waites' upstairs neighbor, found the child, she was lying
on her mother's bed, clad only in her white diaper. There was a red welt on
her cheek where she'd apparently struck the inside of the dresser, and her
lips were puckered.
"You know, like she was waiting on you to kiss her,'' said Joseph, 43.
On Monday, a judge ordered a tearful Waites, who's been charged with
first-degree murder, held on a $700,000 bond. Her two other children -- a
5-year-old girl and an 18-month-old boy -- were in the custody of a
relative.
Waites lived with the children in a basement apartment on the 6600 block of
South St. Lawrence.
A source who asked not to be identified said Waites contacted a social
service agency in February 2004 about giving Kellise -- who was not yet
born -- up for adoption. Waites allegedly changed her mind, and the agency
became concerned about the welfare of the children and contacted the
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
A DCFS investigation found the home to be safe, the source said.
DCFS also was contacted in 2002 after Waites allegedly struck her other
daughter. A relative took temporary custody of the child until DCFS approved
the girl's return to Waites, a DCFS spokeswoman said.
