In Missouri, a mother of five is charged with attempting to kill multiple children, including a newborn, by suffocating them with pillows in a motel room.
According to documents, Lydia M. Ginger was arrested on Sunday and charged with four different counts of first-degree domestic assault, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and one count of child abuse or neglect.
A probable cause affidavit states that at approximately 11 p.m. on Sunday, police were called to the Capitol Plaza Hotel and Convention Center located in Jefferson City’s 400 block of West McCarty Street after a child under the age of 12 called 911 to report that his mother had attacked him.
Inside their hotel room, the child, who was named as “Victim 1” in court documents, told the emergency dispatcher that “their mother had strangled them and threatened to kill other siblings.”
When the child managed to lock themselves in the bathroom and call the police at some point during the attack, they identified the attacker as Ginger and said she had “smothered the victim’s face with a pillow in an attempt to suffocate.”
During the call, the dispatcher claimed to have heard background yelling.
First responders reported that they found Ginger in the hotel hallway, just outside the room where she was staying with her five children, all of whom were younger than twelve.
“Ginger appeared highly intoxicated and reported to officers that Victim 1 did what they had to do, referring to dialing 911 for help,” according to the affidavit.
The child who dialed 911 reported to investigators that they saw Ginger “placing a pillow over the face of Victim 2 with a pillowcase” in addition to smothering them. Victim 2 was “less than 3 months old,” according to the police.
“Victim 1 reported Ginger telling all of the children that if ‘one dies,’ they ‘all die,’” police stated in the document.
Authorities were allegedly informed by a child under the age of eight who was only identified as “Victim 3” that Ginger also tried to suffocate them with a pillow.
After being informed of her Miranda rights, Ginger was taken into custody and taken to the police department for an interview.
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“Ginger admitted there was a disturbance between she and the children, but stated she ‘blacked out’ and couldn’t remember,” according to the affidavit. “Ginger admitted that she ‘snapped,’ adding that she’s not denying that suffocation with pillows happened — but she couldn’t remember citing her being ‘blacked out’ due to postpartum depression. Ginger stated that if her children stated it happened, then it ‘probably’ happened.”
When police searched the hotel room, they found four pillows—two of which had the pillowcases taken off—and several empty bottles of alcohol, which investigators said were “consistent with Victim 1’s story of events.”
Ginger, also known as Lydia Gillispie, was found to be a community danger and is presently being held without bond at Cole County Jail. She was told not to speak to any of the victims.
As of Monday afternoon, there were no court dates on the docket.
