Autopsy: Cocaine toxicity contributed to baby’s death

The last moments of life for 14-month-old Ava Elizabeth Threatt were horrible.

Inside a Gastonia home without air conditioning, with outside temperatures at least 94 degrees that Aug. 13 day last year, the 26-pound little girl was found unresponsive inside a closet.

The mother of the child, 23-year-old Emoni Monique Burnett, who faces a manslaughter charge in the girl's death, told police she had put the child in the closet around noon that day for a nap, covering the baby in a child's sleeping bag.

Burnett's boyfriend told investigators he found little Ava unresponsive at 1:40 p.m. that day. She was found on her left side, her face toward the wall, her diaper heavy with loose stool and urine.

Her temperature was 102.4 by the time she reached CaroMont Regional Medical Center's emergency room.

The medical examiner listed two causes of her death as hyperthermia and heat exposure.

But the doctor also noted she had cocaine in her system, and listed cocaine toxicity and environment as a contributor to the girl's death.

District Attorney Locke Bell said the cocaine in the girl's system likely came from her inhaling the drug while someone else was smoking crack cocaine. The drug was not a cause of Ava's death, Bell said, and will not change the manslaughter charge against the mother.

It would be impossible to know who was smoking the crack cocaine around the child, causing her to inhale the toxic smoke, Bell said.

Burnett remains in Gaston County Jail awaiting trial.

The autopsy, which was released in July, sheds new details on Ava's last moments before she was found unresponsive due to excessive heat.

She had eaten part of her mother's Subway sandwich around 10 p.m. the night before she died, and the mother, told investigators she gave the little girl a "syringe of benedryl," which put the girl to sleep by midnight.

The little girl and her mother lived in Fort Mill, South Carolina, but had been staying with Burnett's boyfriend in Gastonia for about a week before the girl's death.

The doctor noted in his autopsy report several contusions on the left side of the girl's face.

The boyfriend would carry the infant outside to Sheriff's Office deputies when they arrived, and they would begin life-saving efforts. GEMS took her to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Gastonia Police would not charge Burnett with involuntary manslaughter until October, but police would not arrest her until January. After the girl died, Burnett moved to Florida.

In her first court appearance back in January, the mother talked about how she loved her child and missed her.

"I loved my baby, I loved my baby," Burnett told Superior Court Judge David Phillips. "I miss her joyful spirit. I lost everything. Now that she's gone, everyday I'm in this jail, a part of me is missing."

You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or email him at kellis@gastongazette.com or Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin.

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