Following infant’s tragic death, Attorney General Todd Rokita and team make sure woman’s conviction stands

Defendant with history of drug abuse violated court order barring her from being alone with newborn

A 29-year-old Evansville woman with a drug-abuse history who rolled over in bed atop her infant son, asphyxiating him to death, will remain behind bars following successful arguments by Attorney General Todd Rokita’s appeals team to uphold her conviction on neglect charges.

At the time of the tragic incident on June 8, 2022, Taylor Smith was in violation of a court order forbidding her to be alone with the 12-day-old child. She also rejected the advice of child welfare officials that she refrain from co-sleeping with the child, especially when under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Smith is serving a 30-year prison sentence on the neglect and drugs charges.

“Because of this woman’s fateful decisions, a precious newborn child lost his life,” Attorney General Rokita said. “I’m proud of our team for ensuring she is held to account for her actions, and we can only hope that stories like this one will deter other parents and would-be parents from similar missteps.”

The child’s father also pleaded guilty to neglect charges.

Attorney General Rokita thanked Deputy Attorney General Tyler Banks for his work on this case. He also thanked Appeals Division Chief Counsel Angela Sanchez and Criminal Appeals Section Chief Andrew Kobe.

The appellate court decision is attached
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here .

A headshot of Attorney General Rokita is
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available for download . 

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