The Mechanicsburg District Courthouse in Pennsylvania (Google Maps).
A 40-year-old mother in Pennsylvania is accused of killing her 2-month-old daughter, allegedly falling asleep after leaving the newborn on a nesting pillow balanced between a recliner and a bed, allowing her to slip through the gap and be suffocated by a pile of stuffed animals and blankets.
Katherine Nicole Tibbens was arrested June 18 and charged with involuntary manslaughter and felony endangering the welfare of children, according to Cumberland County court records.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by PennLive, Tibbens woke up around 6 a.m. on Sept. 13, 2025, to her daughter crying in the bassinet located in her bedroom. She fed the baby a bottle before placing her on a circular nesting pillow that rested partly on the recliner”s left armrest and partly on a mattress while she watched television.
Police said Tibbens told investigators she intended to return the infant to the bassinet but instead considered either eating a leftover sandwich or cleaning the house. She did neither and fell asleep. When she woke about three hours later, the baby was gone from the pillow.
Investigators said Tibbens found the infant’s feet sticking up from the narrow space between the recliner and the bed, where Tibbens had piled blankets, pillows and stuffed animals. The baby was unconscious and had bluish skin when she was pulled free, Harrisburg CBS affiliate WHP reported.
Officers and paramedics attempted lifesaving measures, but the infant died at the scene. The Cumberland County Coroner’s Office determined the baby died from positional asphyxia, a finding that was reportedly consistent with the child falling headfirst off the nesting pillow into the pile of bedding between the recliner and bed.
Police said Tibbens acknowledged she should not have fallen asleep while the baby was outside the bassinet and admitted she regularly placed the infant on the nesting pillow in the same location while watching television.
The mother also described the recliner as “not exactly sturdy” and said it should have been removed from the bedroom, according to the Franklin County Free Press.
Investigators later seized the recliner under a search warrant and confirmed it was in poor condition, PennLive reported.
Police also reviewed medical records from UPMC Harrisburg and Penn State Health, which they said showed Tibbens had received education on infant safe-sleep practices after the baby’s birth, including that infants should sleep alone, on their backs and in an approved crib rather than on elevated or unstable surfaces, according to the affidavit.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 13, according to court records.
