Pregnant stripper charged with murder after two-month-old son starves to death

A woman has been charged with murder after an autopsy revealed her baby son died of starvation and dehydration

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by Kayleigh Dray |
Published on

Brittany Marie West, 21, was arrested for murder almost ten months after her baby son, Anakin, died.

On 8th April 2014, her lover at the time, Michael Withers, dialled 911 after he woke to find the baby unresponsive.

By the time police arrived, baby Anakin - weighing a tiny five pounds - was dead.

It has been reported that the child's ribs were visible through the skin and that his small and large intestines were essentially empty.

An autopsy, conducted months later, determined Anakin died of starvation and dehydration, according to The Tennessean.

Exotic dancer Brittany, who is now 24 weeks pregnant with her third child, has now been charged with aggravated child abuse, aggravated child neglect and murder.

Stock image
Stock image

Steve Anderson, the father of her unborn child, told American news site WSMV that he was horrified to learn what happened to her late son.

He said: "Up until yesterday, Brittany and I both thought the child died of SIDS.

"I wasn't in the picture back then.

"My main priority is the welfare of my child and my main goal is getting custody of my baby girl."

Explaining why the autopsy and the investigation had taken so long, police said: "We wanted to make sure our case was right and we had everything done before we presented all those facts.

"We want it right not hurried."

PICTURE VIA SMYRNA POLICE DEPARTMENT

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