UPDATE (Aug. 22, 2019)– This case was dismissed as part of a plea deal in another case.
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ANDERSON, Ind. – Police say an Anderson woman is facing charges, including murder, after she admitted to doing drugs while pregnant, including methamphetamine, before her son died during birth.
Shortly after giving birth on Dec. 23 of last year, police say Kelli Renee Leever-Driskel, 34, and the baby were transported to a local hospital. The next day, an autopsy was performed on the infant.
According to police, a pathologist report lists “a particular medical condition” as the cause of death. Pathologists also reported that contributing factors in the baby’s death were acute methamphetamine, fentanyl, clonazepam, and diphenhydramine intoxication.
Thursday, police located Leever-Driskel at a local motel and brought her to the police department for questioning. During that interview, police say the woman admitted she knew she was pregnant about one month before her baby’s birth, but she continued to consume different types of drugs, including meth.
“The greatest concern is you know we still have a drug epidemic problem in our country, in our community that brings this to, brings this to the forefront to our social conscience that we really need to take a close examination, really begin to work towards a civil resolution as to how we are going to stem this problem,” Anderson Police Major Joel Sandefur said.
Now, Leever-Driskel is facing preliminary charges of murder (a person that knowingly or intentionally killed a fetus that attained viability) and multiple counts of possession of a controlled substance.
Leever-Driskel has been booked into the Madison County Detention Center on a 72-hour hold.
The investigation into the baby’s death is ongoing.
