PA Mom Arrested Of Smothering Her 9-Month-Old Son; Staged Crib Death

A Pennsylvania mother has been charged with the homicide of her infant son, per authorities. She strangled the baby and then staged it to look like he died in his crib.

Authorities arrested Patricia Hullenbaugh, 21, on Wednesday, nearly three weeks after the death of her infant son, Waylon Long, the Indiana Borough Police Department said in a statement to PEOPLE.

Authorities responded to a home in Indiana Borough, Pa., on Jan. 6 after receiving a call from an unresponsive infant, the police statement said. When they arrived, they found the baby not breathing and without a pulse. 

CPR efforts from officers, medics, and the child’s father helped the baby regain his pulse. Baby Waylon was then transported to the hospital, where he passed away on Jan. 11.

Investigators continued looking into the circumstances of the boy’s death. During the initial investigation, Hullenbaugh allegedly told them that she found Waylon “hanging partially outside the crib, with his face down on the mattress of the crib” after she’d put him in for a nap. 

However, during several subsequent interviews, the mother allegedly changed her story.

A follow-up interview with Hullenbaugh on Jan. 24 led to police arrest her on Jan. 31. During that interview, she allegedly admitted to authorities that she had put a blanket over her son’s head “until he stopped crying,” the statement said.

When she removed the blanket, he was no longer breathing.

She then allegedly “positioned” his body “in a specific way to hide her involvement.” Hullenbaugh “panicked” and placed the baby between the slats in an attempt to “cover-up” her actions, a criminal complaint reads.

She also admitted that she waited 15 minutes after the incident to wake up the baby’s father, Kody Long.

Hullenbaugh has also been charged with child endangerment and possession of a crime instrument. She is being held without bail. Her next court appearance is Feb. 8.