DALEVILLE, Ind.–The mother of a 2-year-old boy who died in Daleville earlier this week was arrested early Thursday morning.
The boy, Jaxon Stults, was found unresponsive in a locked car outside an apartment complex Wednesday night. Ron Patterson was at the American Legion building across the street from that complex. He ran over there to see what was wrong.
“I watched them carry him inside and my immediate reaction was to charge in. When I went in, there were several people in the house and he was just laying on the couch. I kind of took charge at that point,” Patterson said.
He performed CPR on Stults, but he was still unresponsive.
Stults was rushed to a hospital, but medical personnel could not save him.
Stults’ mother, Britni Nicole Wihebrink, was arrested and charged with neglect of a dependent. Police say she told them that she was off work Wednesday and started drinking around 11 a.m.
Investigators say she had two wine coolers and three or four Jim Beam Honey shooters. Officers say they found seven empty Jim Beam 50 ml bottles in her house — three in her purse and four in her bedroom drawer.
Stults called 911 Wednesday night and told police her son was unconscious.
“I need someone to 14720 Davis Drive Apartment 102. My child was just found in my car,” Wihebrink said in the 911 call.
“My son is 2. He’ll be 3 in November,” Wihebrink continued.
“You don’t know how long he’s been in there?,” the dispatcher asked.
“I have no idea. We took a nap and when I woke up, he was in there,” Wihebrink responded.
Two young boys found Stults in the car while playing outside the apartment complex. Police have not said how long he may have been in the car before emergency crews arrived.
The medical examiner is working to determine the exact cause of the boy’s death.
Summer Dixon is one of Wihebrink’s neighbors.
“I’m shocked. I can’t believe a mother could leave her child unattended for a long period of time without knowing where they are. That’s going to weigh on her conscience forever,” Dixon said.
(PHOTO: RTV6)
