EVERETT — Detectives are conferring with doctors and medical specialists as they continue to investigate the death of a 3-month-old girl last month.
“This is an active investigation and detectives are pursuing all leads,” Everett police officer Aaron Snell said Monday.
The girl’s mother and her boyfriend were released from jail over the weekend after prosecutors declined to refile the charges in Snohomish County Superior Court. That sometimes happens in cases when police and prosecutors are not ready to take the case to trial.
The pair had been jailed on criminal mistreatment charges.
Three detectives are working on the case from the Everett Police Department and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, Snell said. The couple had been living in unincorporated county before moving to an Everett motel not long before the death.
“This is a serious case and detectives are diligently working on the many moving parts,” Snell said. “Overall, the process will take time as we consult medical experts and other specialists to determine the specifics.”
The mother, Jerrica Schreib, 19, and her boyfriend, Donald Coons, 42, had four children in their care. Schreib called authorities Dec. 18 to report that her baby, 3-month-old Madilynn Schreib, was possibly having an allergic reaction to gripe water.
The baby was hospitalized and died two days later. Her death was ruled a homicide. That’s a medical determination meaning she died as the result of someone else’s actions. Her cause of death was listed by the county medical examiner as a combination of pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis with non-accidental trauma and a clinical history of the presence of amphetamine. Madilynn tested positive for methamphetamines at the hospital.
Coons posted bond in a pending drug case as part of his release, jail records show.
On Monday he called The Daily Herald and demanded a retraction of stories about the baby’s death. He insisted the child’s death had been reclassified and that it was no longer being viewed as a homicide.
The medical examiner’s office Monday still classified the death as a homicide.
The police investigation includes allegations that Coons’ three daughters, who were living with the couple, also were abused. Child Protective Services has placed the girls in protective custody.
Schreib’s older daughter, who is 3, was not believed to be living with her.
Detectives on Monday declined to say if they know who exactly caused Madilynn’s injuries, which included broken bones in various stages of healing.
“The doctors’ reports will help with our investigation,” Snell said.
Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Roe on Friday said there likely will be criminal charges in the case at a later date, “depending on what the investigation ultimately reveals.”
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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