A 3-year-old girl from Coloma Township, Michigan is dead and her night nurse has been charged with second degree murder after showing up to work high on meth, according to police.
Judith Sobol, 42, was an in-home nurse responsible for taking care of the girl -- who required the use of a breathing tube and faced other medical conditions -- overnight. She is now been charged with second degree murder and possession of methamphetamine following the child's death.
Child's Breathing Tube was Missing, Nurse 'In No State to Help Out'
At around 2:30 AM on Monday, police responded to a call from parents saying their daughter wasn't breathing. When they arrived, the girl's father's was performing CPR and, per WNDU, police say they "found the woman hired to monitor the child that night in no state to help out." Investigators say Sobol was discovered lying next to the child, incoherent and mumbling, the outlet reported.
The child's breathing tube was missing when police arrived on the scene -- and was only later discovered tangled in the girl's hair at the hospital. Sobol allegedly said the tube may have come disconnected while she was cleaning and she "probably passed out or fell asleep" without replacing it.
"After the investigation was completed, we determined that she was high on methamphetamines and should not have been in care of that child," Coloma Township Police Chief Wes Smigielski told WNDU.
Sobol Admitted to Shooting up Meth for Four Days Straight
The probable cause document reportedly revealed that Sobol later told police she had shot up meth that day before work -- and had been using it for four days straight the previous Monday through Thursday. Meth and two pipes were also found in her purse, police say.
Sobol allegedly admitted she was "not in the right state of mind to be at work and should have never come to work at all" -- and, per WSBT, "did tell police that she killed the little girl as a result of her actions."
"There will be a thorough investigation into what her role was at the company and what she did and her licensing and everything else," Smigielski told WSBT.
Sobol is being held on a $500,000 bond and her next hearing is set for next week.
