A Toppenish woman arrested in the death of her 14-month-old grandson was released Thursday afternoon after
a judge found that police lacked evidence to hold her.
The police report filed to support the requested manslaughter charge did not state a cause of death, so Judge Don Engel ruled that the 45-year-old woman should be released from the Yakima County jail.
[...]
An autopsy conducted Thursday morning found
no sign of trauma that would have caused the death, which may have resulted from natural causes, Yakima County Coroner Jack Hawkins said.
Toxicology results and examination of heart tissue are pending before Hawkins reaches a final determination.
Toppenish police are continuing to investigate, deputy prosecutor Patti Powers said. Powers, supervisor of the special assault unit in the Prosecutor's Office, said she will review those reports once they are finished to determine whether the woman might still face charges.
Powers declined to speculate on whether other charges -- such as those involving negligence or mistreatment -- might apply to the case.
Police were called to the home in the 400 block of South Alder Street about noon Wednesday after firefighters responded to the grandmother's 9-1-1 call and found the boy dead.
The police report indicates that
the baby had been untended for 15 hours. The grandmother said she put the boy and his twin brother to bed at 9 p.m. Tuesday and did not discover him dead until noon the next day.
Police said living conditions at the home were unfit for a child.
The boys' cribs were in a modified garage where there was an open container of gas, as well as other solvents and chemicals, police said.
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