Cape Girardeau mother charged in toddler's malnutrition death
GASCONADE COUNTY, Mo. – A Cape Girardeau, Missouri, woman will appear in court Thursday morning for allegedly causing the death of her own child.
According to court documents, Alyssa N. Wehmeyer, 21, is accused of not feeding her child for approximately 43 hours.
The child was found dead on Feb. 28. The cause of death was determined to be dehydration. The autopsy also found 'very little evidence of food in the [child's] stomach.'
The Cape Girardeau Police Department requested the Missouri State Highway Patrol assist in the investigation.
Authorities later met with Wehmeyer for questioning. Police said she admitted the child was in her care in the time leading up to their death.
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Investigators said Wehmeyer told them her child last ate between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Feb. 26. She said she changed the child's diaper between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Feb. 27, and put the child back to bed at approximately 6:30 p.m.
Wehmeyer told the highway patrol the child woke up around 2 a.m. on Feb. 28. She said she held the child for 30 to 40 minutes and then laid the child back down.
By 1 p.m. the day, Wehmeyer said she went to check on the child and saw their lips were blue and the child wasn't breathing.
Court documents state Wehmeyer admitted that she should have taken the child to the doctor on Feb. 27, but she had a migraine. She said she took three Excedrin and laid down for a nap while home alone with the child.
The Gasconade County Prosecuting Attorney's Office charged Wehmeyer with one count of abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death. Wehmeyer remains in custody at Scott County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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