Grandma forced 4-year-old to drink whiskey in deadly punishment, Louisiana cops say
A woman forced her 4-year-old granddaughter to drink whiskey while the girl’s mother watched, leading to fatal alcohol poisoning, Louisiana authorities say.
The death of China Record was ruled a homicide after an autopsy revealed she died of acute alcohol poisoning, The Advocate reported, citing the East Baton Rouge Coroner’s Office. Her grandmother, Roxanne Record, and mother, Kadjah Record, have been charged with murder.
Both were arrested early Friday, April 22, and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, online records show.
Officers were called around 11 a.m. on April 21 to a home on Wallis Street to investigate reports of an unresponsive child, Baton Rouge police said in a news release. While there, investigators learned that the child’s grandma made her drink a bottle of whiskey as punishment after she believed the child had taken a sip of the alcohol that was left on a counter, WAFB reported.
“The grandmother allegedly forced the toddler to drink the rest of the liquor that was in the bottle, which was possibly more than half full,” authorities said, according to the news station. The girl’s mother failed to intervene, they said.
The pair are accused of putting the girl in a bathtub and waiting for her to stop breathing before calling 911, WBRZ reported, citing police.
The 4-year-old had a blood alcohol level of .680 percent when she died — more than eight times the legal driving limit of .08 percent, police said.
A Georgia couple was arrested in a similar case this month after they were accused of putting alcohol in the bottle of their 4-week-old baby, who later died, McClatchy News reported. Both were charged with malice murder and second-degree murder.
Police said the case in Baton Rouge remains under investigation.
This story was originally published April 22, 2022 at 1:35 PM with the headline "Grandma forced 4-year-old to drink whiskey in deadly punishment, Louisiana cops say."