Maryland Mother Charged With Murder After 5-Week-Old Baby Found Dead Following Night of Drinking and Snapchat Videos
MARYLAND — A 24-year-old mother from Cecil County has been charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and multiple counts of child abuse after investigators say she spent a drunken “girls night” sending Snapchat videos while caring for her 5-week-old daughter, who was found dead the next morning with signs of trauma and early rigor mortis.
Paramedics Found Infant Cold and Lifeless With “Slight Rigor Mortis”
Maryland State Police responded to a residence in Rising Sun on the morning of Dec. 4, where baby K.C., just five weeks old, was found unresponsive, cold to the touch, and showing early rigor mortis, indicating she had been deceased for some time.
Paramedics reported that they could not straighten the infant’s legs, and the child was pronounced dead at 9:17 a.m. The agency’s Homicide Unit immediately took over the case.
Mother Had Spent the Night Drinking and Sending Snapchat Videos, Police Say
Court documents obtained by Cecil Whig describe a disturbing digital timeline recorded in the hours leading up to the baby’s death.
Between 11:06 p.m. on Dec. 3 and 1:34 a.m. on Dec. 4, investigators say Chiveral sent several Snapchat videos showing her becoming intoxicated while the newborn was in the home. In many of the videos, the baby can be heard crying in the background.
In one video, Chiveral can be seen drunk and struggling with a baby gate, saying, “I’m too (expletive) drunk for that. I’m just going to (expletive) climb over the (expletive) (expletive).”
In another, she speaks from a bathroom while the baby cries, saying, “I don’t know if you hear the (expletive) baby trippin’ in the background.”
The final video sent before the child’s death shows Chiveral hiccuping and rambling about the baby being upset:
“She’s (expletive) tri-(hiccup) trippin’… but honestly I love you but don’t trust you enough to tell you…”
A later video timestamped 1:34 a.m. shows the baby still alive but includes a detail detectives found significant — a framed picture visible in the video was straight, yet during the investigation that morning, the same frame was found knocked noticeably askew.
Autopsy: Baby Died of Blunt Force Trauma
Chiveral initially told investigators she believed the baby had rolled between a couch cushion and the back of the couch. But the medical examiner determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma, including bleeding to the back of the brain and other injuries inconsistent with an accidental fall.
Police: Mother’s Story Changed Multiple Times
When questioned about drinking, Chiveral insisted she only consumed one drink and a Smirnoff shot. But police found a nearly empty bottle of vodka that a witness stated was nearly full days earlier.
In a follow-up interview after being told the autopsy showed homicide, Chiveral repeatedly denied harming her daughter, at one point saying:
“I swear I never did anything to her… I would never do that.”
She later suggested she might have sleepwalked while intoxicated or might have kicked the infant while they slept together on the couch. She also claimed her toddler was “rough” with the baby — but police noted the toddler was not even present that night.
During the same interview, she told detectives:
“Nothing I say is going to fix this, is it? No matter what, I’m going to be blamed for her death, ain’t I?”
Charges and Detention
Destiny Faith Chiveral is charged with:
- First-degree murder
- Second-degree murder
- Child abuse resulting in the death of a child under 13
- Child abuse causing severe bodily injury
She is being held without bond at the Cecil County Detention Center. Her next court date is scheduled for Jan. 9, 2026.
Waldron News will continue following this case as additional court filings and forensic details become available.