By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review

A 26-year-old woman convicted of felony child neglect in the death of her 3-month-old son, who was found dead in the woman’s bed in March 2020, was given a second chance this week and can avoid prison time if she is successful on probation.

Shailey Huron, formerly of Wausau, learned her fate Friday. She was convicted in October on a single charge of child neglect where the consequence is death.

Police say Huron was previously warned not to co-sleep with her infant and warned by a hospital nurse a pediatrician and a public health nurse about the dangers involved. But in the morning hours of March 30, 2020, officers and an ambulance were summoned to her home in the 100 block of North Fourth Avenue for a report of an infant who was not breathing.

The child died as a result of accidental asphyxia associated with an unsafe sleeping environment, according to autopsy results.

Investigators say Huron invited two men, age 18 and 22, to her home on the evening prior to the boy’s death. During the evening, Huron and the 18-year-old man drank alcohol and used marijuana before going to bed, placing the infant in the bed with them. She awoke to find the child unresponsive.

Police issued a statement about the dangers of co-sleeping following the child’s death.

“Any individual responsible for a child’s welfare must provide necessary care,” a police statement read. “Negligence that seriously endangers the physical health of a child is neglect.”

Co-sleeping, when babies and young children sleep close to one or both parents, can be risky. Research suggests that co-sleeping can lead to an increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and accidental suffocation.

On Friday, Circuit Judge Greg Strasser issued a withheld sentence for Huron and ordered her to spend 10 years on probation in her new home state of Texas. Huron is also prohibited from employment involving children and must attend parenting classes. In a withheld sentence, a defendant avoids prison if he or she completes probation, but can be given a new sentence if probation is revoked.