Overview
- Police say Makenzie D. Critton called 911 on July 27 reporting her 7-month-old was not moving, first responders performed prolonged CPR, and the infant was later pronounced dead at Children’s Wisconsin.
- Prosecutors filed a criminal complaint saying Critton admitted repeatedly smothering the child, including pressing the infant’s face into her chest for about 10 to 15 minutes the morning of the death.
- The complaint includes multiple statements from relatives and a close family friend who said they saw earlier incidents of smothering, shaking, and hitting in the weeks before the fatal episode.
- An autopsy found no disease or visible injury to explain the death, and the medical examiner’s final cause and manner are awaiting toxicology and histology results that investigators say are key in suffocation cases.
- Critton is charged with physical abuse of a child, repeated acts causing death, a Class A felony that carries a mandatory life sentence if she is convicted, and the case will proceed as forensic results and court appearances continue.