Tulsa Mom Arrested In Death Of Her Child

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, OK -- A Tulsa mother is behind bars after being arrested Thursday in connection with the death of her infant son in November of last year.

Shemirah Benson, 26, was charged in early January with second-degree manslaughter.

1/15/2010 Related story: Tulsa Woman Charged In Death of 7-Month-Old Son

According to Tulsa Police, Benson was sleeping on a couch with her 7-month-old son, Dan Benson, on November 5.

The infant - the second of Benson's children to die under the same circumstances - suffocated because of Benson's "culpable negligence," prosecutors said last month.

Benson's husband found his wife asleep on the sofa, the infant between his mother and the back of the couch, according to Tulsa Police. The baby was not breathing and was pronounced dead at a Tulsa hospital.

Shermirah Benson is being held in the Tulsa County jail on $500,000 bond.