A baby was pronounced dead early Tuesday morning after being found unresponsive at an Augusta motel, leading to murder charges against his teen mother and two others.
Josiah Noel Seright, a 3½-month-old from Washington, Georgia, was discovered at the Budget Inn located at 1616 Gordon Highway. Emergency responders transported him to Wellstar MCG Health, where he was pronounced dead at 2:37 a.m. Tuesday.
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Josiah died from hypothermia and respiratory failure after being wrapped in a wet blanket and placed in a wet car seat in front of a motel air conditioning unit set at 61 degrees, according to warrants.
The mother, September De’Asia Seright, 19, and two others, Diane Lamish Seright, 42, and Antonio Bennie Nash, 39, have been charged with murder in the second degree and cruelty to children in the second degree.
Warrants spell out the circumstances around the death. He was left in a wet car seat all day and night. The mother is accused of bringing him into the bathroom with her as she showered, leaving the child in a wet blanket. She then placed the infant in front of the AC unit that was set at 61 degrees while she laid on the hotel couch and the co-defendants were in a bed.
The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene around 2:02 a.m. Tuesday in response to a report of an unknown situation. Upon arrival, deputies found the infant unresponsive. Despite efforts to save him, Josiah could not be revived.
The three suspects are currently being held at the Charles B. Webster Detention Center.
The Richmond County Coroner’s Office is scheduled to perform an autopsy to confirm an exact cause of death.
