A couple from Gloucester County has been charged with the drowning-death of their 6-week-old baby, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office has announced.
On June 8, emergency crews responded to the Inverness Apartment Complex shortly before noon for a report of an infant in cardiac arrest. Upon arrival, transported the unconscious baby to Inspira Medical Center in Woodbury where he was pronounced dead shortly after.
Further investigation revealed that the mother, later identified as Shannon Schonewolf, 33, had fallen asleep in the bathtub for several hours with her son resting on top of her. When Schonewolf finally woke up, the baby was unconscious.
Schonewolf and 27-year-old Maurice Brown (who was home at the time) today were taken into custody and are being held at the Salem County Jail on $100,000 bail.
The couple’s second child is under the care of relatives.