The Indiana State Police are continuing to investigate the death of eight-week-old Kensli Deese who died in Franklin on Tuesday.
An autopsy was conducted on Wednesday and there was no evidence of physical injuries or trauma to the infant. An official cause of death has not been determined and is pending toxicology results, according to a news release from the Indiana State Police.
Franklin police were dispatched to the home of the infant’s babysitter in the 3000 block of North Morton Street, in the Pennington Mobile Home Park, at 10:51 a.m. Tuesday on a report of a baby not breathing. A caregiver told police that Deese was taking a nap in a pack-and-play, and did not wake up, according to a probable cause affidavit police used to get a search warrant for the mobile home.
Deese was bleeding from her mouth and nose when police arrived, according to the affidavit. No blood was in the portable crib where police were told the baby was sleeping, but blood was in the baby’s car seat, which was on a counter in the residence, according to court documents.
Police were seeking any evidence in connection with the baby’s death, according to the search warrant.
“Right now we don’t have a lot of answers and don’t have a lot of information,” said Sgt. John Perrine, spokesperson for the Indiana State Police.
No one has been arrested in the baby’s death. State police were eventually called to investigate because a Franklin police officer is related to the babysitter, Police Chief Kirby Cochran said.
State police are treating the baby’s death as a death investigation, and had not determined whether the death was due to an accidental reason or was a homicide, for example, Perrine said.
The 911 caller at the residence was given instructions on how to perform CPR and attempted life-saving measures for about 10 minutes, according to court documents. A Franklin police officer arrived and did CPR for about five minutes, Cochran said.
The baby was taken to Johnson Memorial Hospital where she later died, according to a news release from the Indiana State Police.
Deese was born on July 30 in Franklin to Brandi McCall.
