Photo: Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department
Rachel McAfee, the Indianamother who was found in her car along with her three-month-old daughter’s lifeless bodyTuesday, appeared intoxicated when police discovered the pair, newly released court documents allege.
The 36-year-old appeared to be intoxicated, the affidavit alleges. The inside temperature of the vehicle was nine degrees and Emma was found on the passenger floorboard.
“[Emma was] cold to the touch and appeared to be deceased,” Detective Gary L. Smith Jr. wrote in the affidavit.
The car was out of gas and its battery was dead, the affidavit states. McAfee was wearing thin clothing and immediately transported to a local hospital for cold-related issues. She was later taken into police custody.
According to the affidavit, police found the pair after being called to conduct a welfare check on a parked car after a concerned neighbor called 911.
The neighbor told police she noticed the vehicle earlier in the day when it was idling outside of her house, the affidavit states.
Later that day, when the neighbor returned home from work, she noticed the vehicle was still parked outside her home, but its engine was off and the woman was slumped over the center console without a coat on, WIBC reports. At that point, the worried neighbor called 911.
It is unclear how long Emma had been dead when she was found and how she died, Deputy Chief of Investigations Christopher Bailey told reporters at a Tuesday press conference. Results of an autopsy are pending.
Mental Health Under Investigation: Police
The meeting McAfee failed to attend, her husband told investigators, was an “intervention concerning her excessive drinking,” the affidavit states, WIBC reports.
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Clickhereto get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
Before his wife and daughter were found, McAfee’s husband said he feared for his daughter’s safety because his wife had been acting unusually.
“My biggest concern is my daughter. She’s only three months old. Obviously, she can’t fend for herself. My wife can. My wife’s not the most fit mentally, currently, so that’s a big concern,” he told local station WTHR, adding, “She had a little bit of depression going on. Just hasn’t been her normal self.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “home” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go tosuicidepreventionlifeline.org.
source: people.com
