Glenville woman charged with manslaughter after death of 2-month old

(ABC 6 News) – A Glenville woman is facing manslaughter charges, in the December 2021 death of her two-month-old son.

Jocelyn Leslie Pater, 25, is charged with second-degree manslaughter along with charges of child endangerment, causing or permitting a child to inject, inhale, be exposed to methamphetamines, and fifth-degree drug possession.

On December 13, 2021, Austin police officers were called to 402 27th Street Southwest for a report of an infant not breathing and its nose bleeding.

According to the criminal complaint, the child died four days later. The medical examiner’s autopsy report said the infant died due to overlay while co-sleeping with an adult. On Dec. 14, an MRI showed diffuse anoxic brain injury and a follow-up CT scan on Dec. 16 also showed diffuse anoxic brain injury as well as injuries to the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia and midbrain.

Toxicology results were positive for methamphetamine but it is unclear if the presence of methamphetamine had any contribution to the cause of death.

Pater told police that she fell asleep on the couch with the child and was later awoken by her friend who was hysterical and who had pulled the child away, and took her to a neighbor’s residence and called 911. The woman also attempted mouth-to-mouth until police arrived. The child was later flown by Mayo One to Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

Officers spoke with the next-door neighbor, who said that she last saw the child alert and breathing in the early afternoon. The neighbor. told officers that she believes the Pater was using meth due to her jittery and erratic behavior.

A detective with Austin police spoke with Pater, who stated she didn’t intend to sleep but said that she laid down with him because he was hungry and indicated that she had been sleeping for about an hour.

While officers secured Pater’s apartment, police discovered in a purse a loaded syringe with what appeared to be meth.

A search warrant was granted for the apartment and eventually discovered a digital scale, three needles in Pater’s bedroom, a meth pipe on the bed near a baby bottle, a bag of .08 grams of meth, a bottle nipple, and baby bottles containing liquid.

The bottles were obtained due to the bottle nipple being found near the suspected methamphetamine. The items were later sent to the BCA laboratory. The bottle nipple tested positive for methamphetamine.

On Dec. 14, 2021, detectives learned from hospital staff that the child presumptively tested positive for narcotics.

Detectives requested Pater take a urine analysis, which she initially refused. She started to become upset and cry and stated that she was not being honest, saying that she had relapsed.

Pater said she had been doing really good until she found the stuff in her apartment, and that everyone thinks she’s sober right now. Defendant stated, “My son isn’t going to die because I’m on drugs, that’s not what caused this.”

Pater allegedly admitted that she had been using daily and that it started about three weeks prior. The urine analysis tested positive for both amphetamine and methamphetamine.

Pater is scheduled back in court on June 23.