04/11/2009

Associated Press

A southwest Missouri woman has been charged with suffocating her 3-month-old son.

The Joplin Globe is reporting that the first-degree murder charge was filed Friday in Newton County Circuit Court against 21-year-old Amy A. Tunnell of Fairview.

Sheriff's deputies were first dispatched to her home March 1 after receiving reports that she had awakened to find her infant wasn't breathing. But her in-laws later told authorities that Tunnell had indicated she either hurt or killed the infant.

The sheriff's department says the child died of asphyxiation.

Bond in the case has been set at $250,000.

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Information from: The Joplin Globe, http://www.joplinglobe.com