Woman Charged in Death of Her Infant Who Was Found in Trash Can

A 28-year-old mother has been charged with the death of her infant child.

On Nov. 21, Jaley Bush was charged with child endangerment resulting in death in connection with the death of a child on Jan. 27, according to court records obtained by PEOPLE.

Authorities discovered the unresponsive child in a basement bedroom of a Keokuk, Iowa, apartment on Jan. 27 around 2 p.m., according to the criminal complaint, KCRG reports.

Bush was visiting a friend that day, and allegedly took Klonopin (a benzodiazepine) and fell asleep in the bed that morning. Investigators say that Bush reported the child was sleeping next to her on the inner part of the bed. 

But when Bush woke up, she discovered the baby was found unresponsive and head first inside of a trash can.

She told authorities that the baby may have crawled over or around her and then fallen into the trash can. 

Authorities then performed life-saving measures on the child before taking the infant to the hospital. There, authorities took a blood sample from Bush on Jan. 28, and methamphetamine and benzodiazepines were found in her system.

The child died on Feb. 5, and the autopsy report found the baby’s cause of death was asphyxiation.

PEOPLE reached out to the Lee County Attorney’s Office for comment.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.          

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.