Minneapolis woman charged in death of infant god daughter

A Minneapolis woman was charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of her infant god daughter, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced Monday.

Leann Farkarlun, 38, the god mother of the victim, has been summoned to court on her second-degree manslaughter charge. Her first appearance is scheduled for April 13.

According to the criminal complaint, police were called to a Minneapolis apartment building on a report of a baby not breathing. Upon arrival, officers located the victim, a 5-month-old girl, who was taken to the hospital and later pronounced dead by medical personnel.

Officers spoke to Farkarlun, who said she was caring for the victim while the victim’s mother was out of town. Farkarlun told police she went out with friends that night, returned home late, and chose to sleep in the same bed as the victim. When she got up to use the restroom, Farkarlun said she realized the victim’s hand was cold, the complaint continues.

Farkarlun observed further and noticed that the victim’s body was lifeless, and she had blood coming from her nose. Farkarlun said CPR was performed, but the victim did not regain consciousness, according to the complaint.

During her initial interview with police, Farkarlun admitted to drinking alcohol the night before. She had her blood drawn around 11 a.m. the next day and it revealed a BAC of .142, nearly twice that of the legal driving limit of .08.

An autopsy performed by the medical examiner’s office did not find any disease or injury that resulted in the baby’s death. There was also nothing to indicate the co-sleeping was not the cause of the infant’s passing.

View the criminal complaint against Farkarlun (PDF).