By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
STURGIS TWP. — A mother faces open murder charges after being arrested Thursday afternoon after her 2-year-old child was found unresponsive.
According to the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department, the incident occurred at the Memory Lane Mobile Home Park in the 25000 block of U.S. 12 in Sturgis Township. Deputies say they were dispatched around 12:47 p.m. for a report of an unresponsive 2-year-old at a residence, and when they arrived, attempts to revive the child were unsuccessful.
The Major Crimes Task Force was then activated, police claim, due to the circumstances surrounding the child’s death. Police did not immediately specify what those circumstances were. After an investigation into those circumstances, investigators reportedly took the child’s mother, 21-year-old Paige Nichole Bohne, into custody and lodged her in the St. Joseph County Jail on an initial charge of involuntary manslaughter. On Friday, following arraignment, Bohne was charged with open murder and denied bond. She is currently scheduled for a pre-exam conference in St. Joseph County 3B District Court on Nov. 19 and a preliminary exam hearing on Nov. 26.
In a statement, Undersheriff Jason Bingaman expressed “sincere appreciation” to responding law enforcement officers, who attempted to revive the child and who recognized the suspicious circumstances.
“The loss of someone is always difficult, but the loss of a child is especially tragic, and it impacts the whole community,” Bingaman said. Support services to the family and to first responders are being made available.
The Sheriff’s Department was assisted by the Sturgis Police Department, Michigan Department of Human & Health Services, Michigan State Police, Tri-Township Fire Department, Sturgis Fire Department and St. Joseph County Victim Services Unit.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
