Abuse by Minneapolis mother suspected in death of boy, 2, charges say

Police suspect a Minneapolis woman's abuse killed her 2-year-old son and left her baby boy with numerous serious injuries, according to charges.

Navonna L. West, 25, appeared Monday in Hennepin County District Court on two felony counts of malicious punishment in connection with injuries suffered by her 4-month-old son. The charges also implicate West in the death Wednesday of her 2-year-old son.

West appeared in court Monday and remains jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail. A message was left Tuesday with her attorney seeking a response to the charges.

According to the criminal complaint and police:

Officers called to the home in the 2400 block of Oakland Avenue S. late in the afternoon of May 4 arrived to find the mother performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the older boy. Emergency responders took him to HCMC, where he died soon afterward.

The officers saw fresh bruises and scratches on the 2-year-old. An autopsy detected "blunt force injuries in various stages of healing," the charges read.

The Medical Examiner's Office said it suspects the death was caused by blows to his body, but it's waiting for toxicology results in order to rule out any other cause.

The baby also had suffered broken ribs and had fluid in his abdomen. A test disclosed that he had been exposed to fentanyl, a powerful opioid.

Questioned after her arrest, West "attempted to deny or minimize the injuries to her children," according to the charges, which did not identify the boys by name.

She said she was the only person with access to her children, other than a male friend who was not alone with the boys for any length of time.

After being told of her older son's death, West "claimed the injuries were from them being sick," the charges read.