Waxahachie, TX — A baby who was born inside a Texas jail has reportedly died.
Shaye Bear gave birth to her son Cashh in the Ellis County Jail on May 17. News station WFAA-TV reports her son was born prematurely and died after he was taken off life support on Saturday.
Bear told WFAA-TV that Cashh being born inside a jail contributed to his death. The mother said her son’s lungs were too weak to work on their own and that his brain was bleeding. Bear was five months pregnant when she gave birth.
Bear added that she took her son off of life support because she didn’t want to see him in pain and believed it was the best thing to do for him.
Bear previously made headlines when she said the day she gave birth, jail guards refused to help her until she had her baby in a cell.
“I delivered a 1-pound, 2-ounce baby in that single cell screaming for hours, begging them to come and help me,” Bear told WFAA-TV. “The guards would walk by and tell me they wouldn’t do nothing for me until I had that baby in that cell.”
An unnamed law enforcement official told WFAA-TV that investigators believe she induced herself to give birth.
Bear denied the accusation and said she had been in pain for days prior to going into labor. The day she gave birth, she was seen by a doctor who believed she was not dilated.
But as the hours passed, Bear says her contractions intensified and that jailers thought she was faking it.
Bear said she sucked the fluid out of her son’s mouth immediately after giving birth to him in jail.
The Texas Rangers told Chron.com last week that the agency is investigating Cashh’s birth and said in a statement, “The investigation is ongoing and no additional information will be released.”
Ellis County Sheriff Charles Edge declined to comment on the incident when contacted last week, deferring to the Texas Rangers.
Bear maintains that her son may still be alive if he was born inside a hospital instead of the Ellis County Jail. She adds she has a lawyer and may file a lawsuit due to her son’s death.
Bear is an admitted meth addict and she was arrested on drug charges on March 10.