A Delaware woman pleaded guilty to an endangering children charge Tuesday afternoon in connection with injuries her 11-month old son suffered in January.
Natasha Marie Moore, 29, appeared in Delaware County Common Pleas Court Tuesday afternoon and pleaded guilty to one count of endangering children, a third-degree felony.
The plea came as the result of an agreement with prosecutors and in exchange an additional endangering children charge was dismissed.
The charges stemmed from an incident in January when Moore and her then-boyfriend, Abdurahman Mohamed Abdurahman, 23, took Moore’s son Phoenyx to the hospital because he was unresponsive.
At the hearing, Moore tearfully said she was negligent.
“I should have taken him [to the hospital],” Moore said. “I couldn’t wake him up. I should have noticed.”
Assistant Delaware County Prosecutor Douglas Dumolt said that according to Abdurahman’s interview with police the boy had been unresponsive since 9 a.m. on Jan. 13. Dumolt said Abdurahman went to run errands around 11 a.m., when Moore became aware that the infant was unresponsive she did searches on her cell phone trying to diagnose him and contacted her father, who strongly recommended that she take the infant to the hospital.
Dumolt said that Moore told her father that she would wait until Abdurahman returned and the pair took the boy to the hospital between 5:15 p.m. and 6 p.m. Dumolt said by that time there was no oxygen in the boy’s brain.
Delaware County Common Pleas Judge David Gormley asked Moore how the boy was injured and Moore said she didn’t know.
Dumolt said the boy has since been released from the hospital and is in no immediate danger. Dumolt added that because the injuries were so severe, doctors have reported that the boy’s life will “likely be cut short.” A condition of the plea agreement is that no additional charges can be brought against Moore in the event of the boy’s death.
Gormley accepted the guilty plea and scheduled a sentencing hearing for Dec. 28 at 8:30 a.m.
Moore was in the Delaware County Jail Tuesday afternoon.
Abdurahman is scheduled to stand trial on Nov. 29 and faces a count of felonious assault, a second-degree felony, and two counts of endangering children, third-degree felonies. The trial is expected to last at least four days.
Abdurahman was also in the Delaware County Jail Tuesday afternoon.
Prosecutors said the case was reported to police after the couple brought the boy to the hospital.
During an interview with detectives on Jan. 13, Abdurahman said he and Moore were the only people to have been in custody of the boy for the previous 48 hours.
The pair were indicted by a Delaware County Grand Jury on Jan. 22.
