Infant's death remains under investigation

Authorities are awaiting toxicology results to determine how an infant died early Friday.    Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said that the child’s autopsy did not produce any visible cause of death. 

“When there are no signs as to the cause of death, you have to rely on the tox screen,” Brown said, adding that results could take three months.

The child, a 1-month-old infant, was sleeping in bed with his parents when his mother discovered he was dead, according to information from the Sheriff ’s Office.

The child’s parents have not been officially identified by authorities. The father is 22 and the mother is 20.

This is the second baby death the Sheriff ’s Office has investigated this year.

In the first case, 13-month-old Dante Alexander Kuprel was reported dead by his mother to emergency officials in mid-January. The child’s parents, Mark and Lisa Kuprel, reported their son as nonresponsive to EMS.

Investigators first believed the child’s death to be a case of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, but after reviewing the circumstances, determined a closer look was warranted.

Authorities are also awaiting the return of toxicology reports in that case.

No charges have been filed in either case.

Contact Daily News Senior Reporter Lindell Kay at 910-219-8456 or lkay@freedomenc.com. Read his crime blog, “Off the Cuff,” at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com. Follow him on Twitter and friend him on Facebook @ 1lindell.