Mother charged with murder, child abuse in Detroit infant's 2015 death

Janee Wright-Trussell faces premeditated murder, child abuse charges

Janee and I'Naya Wright-Trussell

DETROIT – Janee Wright-Trussell faces premeditated murder and child abuse charges in connection to her 8-month-old daughter's death in 2015 at her home in the 19900 block of Glastonbury. 

Charges were filed against 26-year-old Wright-Trussell in November 2016 but did not come to light until the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office announced a willful neglect of duty charge Wednesday against a former Detroit EMT.

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That now-former EMT, Ann Marie Thomas, was fired shortly after the incident in June 2015. She is accused of refusing to respond to a 911 call from Wright-Trussell's home on May 30, 2015. Little I'Nayah Wright-Trussell was not breathing and her mother was calling for help. Thomas was just around the corner on her pervious run a few streets east. She refused to respond to the scene, Detroit Fire Department officials said. An ambulance eventually went to the home. I'Nayah was revived but died the next morning.

Two internal investigations were conducted. The report reads Thomas told her boss, "I'm not about to be on no scene 10 minutes doing CPR, you know how these families get."

The infant's mother denies any wrong-doing and told Local 4 she can't believe she was charged before the EMT. Wright-Trussell faces a premeditated first degree murder charge, a felony murder charge, and three counts of first degree child abuse. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for May 5. 

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About the Authors

Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has been with Local 4 News for more than a decade.

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