A North Carolina mother has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after accidentally killing her baby by co-sleeping while stoned a year after her oldest child died ‘the same way’.
Mackenzie Katlyn Reed, 24, was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse and involuntary manslaughter after her baby, Zhen, died on October 3, 2023.
According to the police, he is the second baby in the family to die in this way.
Police were called to her home in Wilmington, North Carolina for an ‘unconscious infant who was not breathing’ and police found that ‘the infant’s mother, Mackenzie Reed, was sleeping with the infant and during the night she suffocated one’s child. ‘
Lieutenant Greg Willett said: ‘The year before, in 2022, Reed had another child who died, who she had also slept with.’
Reed said she couldn’t believe “she had done this a second time,” according to a police report obtained by StarNews.
A photo from the Facebook profile appears to belong to Mackenzie Reed
Mackenzie Katlyn Reed of Wilmington is charged with involuntary manslaughter and child abuse/neglect causing serious physical injury
Baby Zhen (left) died in October 2023, a year after baby Justin (right). Police say both died while sleeping together
Police were called to the 800 block of Castle Street in Wilmington just after 1 p.m. 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 3 after receiving a call about an unconscious infant.
They tried to revive the baby but were unsuccessful.
Officers then began an ‘in-depth investigation’.
A police report seen by the StarNews said ‘the mother smoked THC and used THC gummies throughout the day and evening.’
The complaint says Reed had fed the infant around midnight before falling asleep with him next to her.
Reed mourned both his sons on social media, asking ‘why is this happening to me again?’
So when the baby’s twin started crying, the father woke up to find the baby face down in bed, with Reed’s arm over him and his ‘face in a blanket’.
‘The year before, in 2022, Reed had another child who died who she had also slept with.’
Reed was arrested and charged with felony child abuse, serious injury, involuntary manslaughter and child abuse/neglect serious physical injury on March 6.
She is currently in jail under a $500,000 secured bond. It is unclear if she has entered a plea at this time.
Two months after allegedly causing her son’s death by sleeping together while high, she posted a meme about weed ‘not your friend’
On the day of the second baby’s death, a Facebook profile appearing to belong to Reed wrote: ‘Why is this happening to me again, my heart can’t take this.’
It then shared links to a GoFundMe created in memory of Zhen Clemmons, a baby who died on October 3rd.
Lieutenant Willett said: ‘During the investigation it was discovered that the infant’s mother, Mackenzie Reed, was sleeping with the infant and during the night she suffocated her child.
The GoFundMe reads: ‘A tragedy for many, but a triumph for heaven, God unexpectedly called his beloved son, Zhen Clemmons, home on October 3, 2023.
‘No person is ever prepared for the loss of a loved one, especially the loss of a child whose life was just beginning. This is no different for the family of little Zhen.
‘To Earth he leaves behind two loving parents and three brothers, all of whom must learn to navigate this world without him in addition to facing all the other difficulties that follow loss.
‘To help ease these hardships and give his loved ones time and space to grieve, we are asking the public to rally behind them in support.’
DailyMail.com reached out to the Wilmington Police Department for comment.