Seaford woman charged in infant's death
A Seaford woman whose baby was prematurely born in a Queens hotel last year was charged Wednesday in the infant's death because she never sought care for her newborn, New York City police said.
An autopsy revealed Lauren Becker's infant was born alive after a seven-month pregnancy and had cocaine and Xanax in her system but not enough to cause her death, the NYPD said. That was listed as lack of medical attention to a premature baby, authorities said.
Medics found the infant unconscious and unresponsive on a bed in Becker's Days Inn room in Long Island City about 7:45 p.m. July 18, authorities said. They and officers had gone there after Becker reached out to relatives and her mother-in-law called 911, the NYPD said.
The mother and child were taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, where the newborn was pronounced dead on arrival, and Becker admitted to the psychiatric unit, police said.
Becker, 36, of Walsall Street, was charged with manslaughter Wednesday, but no date was set for her arraignment because she was in the hospital, officials said. It was unclear if she had an attorney. Relatives could not be reached Wednesday night.
Police said they waited for the full autopsy report on the baby to be completed before charging Becker.
Other details in the case were not immediately available.
Records show Becker had felony robbery and drug possession convictions.
In April 2009, Nassau police arrested her and her boyfriend, accusing them of robbing several banks to support their drug habits. The pair was caught after investigators staked out their getaway car, police said. Becker was sentenced to 1 year behind bars after pleading guilty to two counts of third-degree robbery and one count of third-degree attempted robbery, court records show. Nassau detectives at the time said she had a heroin habit.
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'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
![](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AMzQxYmJmYTAtODViYy00%3AMjE2N2FjNjAtZjVkMy00%2Flier240811.jpg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.