By Janice Morse
The Cincinnati Enquirer

HAMILTON - On the night her 13-month-old baby was killed, a Hamilton mother did at least two things that authorities are questioning:

She left four children in the care of her eldest son, even though, she told WCPO-TV, he had a history of mistreating them. That son, 13, is being held on charges of murder and domestic violence; an autopsy showed that her youngest child died from a powerful blow that ruptured his heart.

And she had left her South Eighth Street apartment to give a ride to her estranged husband, she told reporters - contrary to a court order that forbade the couple from being together. In a March application for the restraining order, the woman alleged that her husband had a drinking problem, was "very violent" and was threatening to kill her and the children.

"She needs to explain why she left this baby in (her son's) care," Prosecutor Robin Piper said Friday. "If she had been home and not violating the terms of the very protection order that she obtained, this incident could not have happened."

Attempts to reach the 28-year-old mother, including a note left at her residence, were unsuccessful Friday. The Enquirer is not identifying the family.

Hamilton police said they were investigating where the mother went Monday night - and how long she left her five children, ages 13, 10, 3, 2, and 13 months, alone. Police said they plan to meet with prosecutors next week to determine whether child-endangering or other charges will be pursued.

Lt. Scott Scrimizzi acknowledged that media reports quoted the mother as saying she had been gone only about 30 minutes when she returned home and found her baby not breathing around midnight Tuesday.

But by then, the infant had been dead for at least an hour, the Butler County coroner, Dr. Richard P. Burkhardt, said. Body temperature and other factors indicate the child died between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. Monday, within a couple of minutes of the fatal injury, he said. By the mother's timeline, she would have still been in the home.

"There seems to be a discrepancy on times," Scrimizzi said. He said that doesn't implicate anyone else in the baby's death; investigators remain confident they have the correct suspect, he said.

However, Scrimizzi said, it does raise questions about how long the mother was actually absent.

At some point, she had picked up her husband after his release from the Butler County Jail, Scrimizzi confirmed.

Jail records show her 32-year-old husband was freed just after 8:30 p.m. Monday, after a two-day stay.

Hamilton police had arrested him June 14 for failing to appear in court on a May 31 West Chester Township drunken-driving charge.

E-mail jmorse@enquirer.com