Mendocino County woman convicted of killing baby via methamphetamine in her breast milk

A Mendocino County woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to voluntary manslaughter in the death of her newborn baby for ingesting methamphetamine before breastfeeding, according to a statement from the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office.

Heather Allison Marsh-Haas, 31, of the Willits and Potter Valley area brought her 30-day-old baby girl to the emergency room at Adventist Health Ukiah Valley hospital in Ukiah in December 2020 after the child lost consciousness, according to the District Attorney’s Office .

Medical staff tried to resuscitate the child but were unsuccessful and she was pronounced dead.

Hospital staff drew blood from Marsh-Haas to look for information that might help save the child. The toxicology sample revealed the presence of meth in her blood, the District Attorney’s Office said.

Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office and medical investigations determined the lethal amount of meth in the newborn was from Marsh-Haas having recently taken the drug that was passed to the baby through breastfeeding, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

A Mendocino County Superior Court judge accepted the mother’s guilty plea and will carry out a presumptive 72-month prison sentence at a hearing on Oct. 8 at the Mendocino County Courthouse in Ukiah.

You can reach Staff Writer Alana Minkler at 707-521-5224 or alana.minkler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @alana_minkler.