SHAWNEE, Okla. -- A mother and her boyfriend told police sleepwalking caused injuries that resulted in a 2-year-old's death, according to KFOR.
Police and paramedics rushed to Whitney Breslin's home on Friday after her boyfriend, Cashe Graham, called 911 to report a 2-year-old girl who was having trouble breathing.
“She's breathing in and out maybe every 15 seconds. She's breathing real hard," Graham said during the 911 call. "We just thought she was sleeping in a little late and, when we went to check on her, she was breathing real weird."
The girl, Jamie Murdock, was rushed to a local hospital where she later died.
“Bleeding and swelling of the brain, that was the main thing. She also had a bruise on her chin and a bruise in the lower abdomen,” said Detective Sergeant Jason Crouch told KFOR.
According to police, the child tested positive for marijuana when she arrived at the hospital. Officers said the child likely ingested the drug, adding secondhand smoke would not cause a positive test.
Breslin and Graham both denied hurting the child and blamed her injuries on sleepwalking. The couple said they had taken several steps to prevent the girl from harming herself while sleepwalking.
“Putting rubber on the corners of the desks, and the cabinets and the windowsills. That was something that was odd in this thing, you know, they were actually trying to childproof the home,” Det. Crouch said.
However, doctors said Murdock's injuries were not caused by sleepwalking.
“It was some kind of an assault or abuse. The only way it can be explained is somebody did that to her,” Det. Crouch said.
In a probable cause affidavit obtained by KFOR, police noted the child's mother "sounded like she was crying" but "while at the ER, Whitney would appear to cry but never shed any tears.”
Police are still working to determine who caused the injuries.
“Neither one of them are coming off of their story, saying that they understand how bad it looks but that they didn’t do it. Well, somebody did it. One of them did it. Either one of them did it and the other’s covering for them, or vice versa or they both were a part of it. But, they’re both guilty,” Det. Crouch told KFOR.
Breslin and Graham were arrested Tuesday and charged with first-degree murder.
