GASSAWAY, W.Va (WDTV/Gray News) – Parents in West Virginia have been charged with murder after their 4-month-old baby died with alcohol in her system.
James Joseph Smith, 34, and Angel Talbert, 23, both of Gassaway, have each been charged with first-degree murder, child neglect resulting in death and conspiracy, according to the Braxton County Sheriff’s Department. They were arrested last week.
The baby died on Nov. 16, 2024.
Earlier this month, deputies received the medical examiner’s results, which stated that the baby’s liver tissue was positive for ethanol with a reading of 3.210. A doctor told deputies that 3.210 would be fatal to an infant child, court documents say.
An investigation showed that Smith and Talbert had been rubbing alcohol on the baby’s gums almost every day for a month prior to her death whenever she would get irritable and fussy, court documents say …
While deputies were at the couple’s home, they said there were roaches crawling in multiple places throughout the home, and there was no running water in the kitchen or bathroom.
While in the back room, deputies also saw smoking apparatuses, which they said were used to smoke THC.
Smith and Talbert are both currently in the Central Regional Jail with no bond set …
