When Ashlee Rans, 36, contacted police after waking up and discovering that her baby Neveah was cold with blood running from her nose, she blamed herself, telling first responders that her infant's death may have been the result of rolling over her while the two were asleep.
An autopsy performed the day after Neveah was pronounced dead revealed that she was in the wrong, but also withholding some damning information.
Rans was arrested on January 14 and charged with two counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in death when the autopsy showed that the 2-month-old had amphetamine and methamphetamine in her system, WNDU reports. "The cause and manner of death were determined by the forensic pathologist, and he determined the infant died of acute methamphetamine intoxication, and the manner of death was homicide," Marshall County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Tami Napier said.
A probable cause affidavit states that Rans brought Neveah into her bed to breastfeed her, and they fell asleep while facing each other. Rans admitted to marijuana use prior to her baby's death, and was aware that she could possibly transfer the drug to her infant through her breast milk. It was only after the autopsy was performed that she confessed to using meth in a gas station two days before Neveah's death.
If convicted, Rans faces between 20 and 40 years in prison.
