Mom pleads not guilty in baby's smothering death

A Worcester woman accused of smothering her 4-week-old baby in Burlington last summer, pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Vermont Superior Court on Thursday.

Rosemary Gile, 27, had an alcohol level of 0.132 percent shortly after Burlington Police responded to the report of an unresponsive baby at about 1 a.m. July 22 at 8 Isham St.

Her son, Saunder Coltrane River Gilruth, who was 27 days old, died the afternoon of July 30 from "probable positional/situational asphyxia," according to Dr. Elizabeth A. Bundock, Vermont's chief deputy medical examiner.

Bundock ruled the death an accident and she believed the smothering happened eight days earlier.

State's Attorney T.J. Donovan said after the hearing that the issue in the criminal case is the allegations of drug and alcohol use while co-sleeping with a newborn.

Judge Michael Kupersmith released Gile on conditions, including no drug use. She is allowed access to alcohol.

Gile did not comment as she left the Judge Edward J. Costello Courthouse with family and friends. Gile, who was living in Burlington, has moved back to her mother's home on Worcester.

If convicted, Gile faces a possible 1-to-15 year prison sentence and $3,000 fine.

Court documents show Gile has seven aliases, including Rosemary Gilruth and her record includes a conviction for a sex act.

St. Albans police reported they were summoned to Federal Street near the Amtrak Station and Boston Tailors for two homeless people having sexual contact in public on Oct. 15.

Officer Keith Cote wrote he identified Gile as one of the people and ordered her into court on a lewd and lascivious conduct charge. The felony charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor prohibited act and she was sentenced to 19 to 20 days in prison, court records show.

In the current case Gile and Robert Waylon Sand, 33, her fiance and the father of Saunder, were visiting friends at the apartment the night the boy was smothered, police said.

They were visiting Eryn Sheehan, 24, and Jeremy Clark, 33, at their Isham Street apartment about 6 p.m.

Burlington Sgt. Paul Glynn reported Gile at the scene admitted to smoking marijuana earlier that night. Gile later denied drug use when questioned by a detective, court records show.

Burlington Rescue rushed the baby, who was not breathing, to Fletcher Allen Health Care. Emergency workers were able to revive Saunder, who was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. He died eight days later after life-support machines were shut off, officials said.

The parents made the decision after being told their child was brain dead, Detective Mary Polidori said in a court affidavit. Polidori, who works for the University of Vermont Police, is assigned to the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations, a countywide task force called in to handle the case.

Polidori said Sheehan reported she, Gile and Sand shared three bowls of marijuana the night the baby was found unresponsive.

Gile admitted that she smoked marijuana every day during her pregnancy and that her doctor was aware of it, Polidori wrote. She said Gile also used tobacco and the combination was a factor in the small size of the baby at birth.

Police said Fletcher Allen Health Care officials reported that they provide new parents safety information when the baby is born. Among them is "Safe Sleep For Your Baby." It discourages parents from sleeping with their child in a bed, couch or chair.

Polidori said the evidence shows Gile went to sleep with her son on her chest and that she later changed positions, which resulted in the Saunder's suffocation.

Before arriving at the apartment on Isham Street. Gile and Sand had taken their son to the Community Health Center, where the baby was considered healthy during a routine appointment at 2:45 p.m. The parents were urged to supplement breast feeding with formula to help spur growth because the baby was considered undersized at birth, Polidori said.

Contact Mike Donoghue at mdonoghue@freepressmedia.com. Follow Mike on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FreepsMikeD .

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Contact Mike Donoghue at mdonoghue@freepressmedia.com. Follow Mike on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FreepsMikeD.