PHOENIX — A Phoenix woman was arrested after her 1-year-old son died from "possible" drug exposure, the Phoenix Police Department said.
Natalie Tate, 37, was booked into the Maricopa County jail on Monday. Police said she is facing the possible charge of negligent homicide along with two counts of child abuse following the death of her son, Jody Jackson.
Police said officers responded to a call for an injured person at the UMOM campus near 32nd and Van Buren streets at 7:30 a.m. on Monday. That's where they found the toddler unconscious inside one of the apartments on the property.
Emergency medical crews also responded and attempted to save the little boy's life but he was pronounced dead on scene.
A second child was also found inside the apartment unharmed, police said.
Investigators said Tate admitted she had used drugs the previous night and thought her son might have "gained access to the container with drugs and ingested a pill."
UMOM provided the following statement about the situation:
"While UMOM cannot provide comment on the direct incident as it is an active investigation and we do not divulge client information without express consent, we can confirm that an arrest was made on campus yesterday and UMOM is cooperating with the authorities on the investigation.
With regard to our policies and procedures, UMOM is low-barrier shelter with strict safety rules and regulations, and clear guidelines of what is — and is not — allowed on campus.. We conduct room checks at random or with plausible cause and check belongings when residents check in.
As an organization, UMOM is focused first on providing emergency shelter to women and families in need. Once housed here at our campus, each resident is assigned a case manager to assess what barriers to self-sufficiency exist and provide clients with the programming and resources necessary to take those steps to secure permanent housing, a steady job and wellness services."
The investigation remains active as detectives await the findings of the post-mortem exam.
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