'One of the saddest situations': Neighbours shocked after mother charged in baby's death

WARNING: This story contains distressing details.

A 32-year-old Kingston, Ont., mother accused of abandoning her two young children — causing her infant boy to die from neglect in their home — has a history of substance abuse and domestic instability, according to neighbours and a close family source who spoke with CBC News.

Child welfare workers and first responders found the siblings last Friday at an apartment building in Kingston's downtown area.

Police said the younger of the two — a baby — was found dead, while his toddler brother got medical care and is expected to survive.  

Their mother, who was located in Napanee, Ont., about 45 kilometres away, now faces several charges, including criminal negligence causing death, failing to provide necessaries of life and two counts of abandoning a child under 10 years old.

None of those allegations have been proven in court.

Under Ontario's Child, Youth and Family Services Act, CBC cannot report details that would identify the woman or her kids.

The law extends to anyone connected to individuals who are under child protective services and information that would reveal their whereabouts.

Home was 'very volatile,' says neighbour

Authorities had previously removed four other children from the woman, placing them with other families due to concerns about her ability to properly care for them, according to the family source.

The source, who has known the accused for years and has close ties to the family, said the woman suffered from "heavy substance abuse issues." She also said the woman had a "tumultuous relationship" with her ex-partner, who fathered most of her children, including the two boys found last week.

"There were several instances … of domestic violence to the point where she was put in the hospital," the source recalled.

She also described the home as "very volatile" and one of the reasons why the other children had to be removed.  

Several neighbours who knew the accused to varying degrees said they've regularly seen supportive workers coming and going at the building, offering help to low-income individuals.

What happened on May 31, they said, rose to another level.

"I just knew that there was something serious going on with that family ... with the ambulance and then the police arriving," said one neighbour, who saw a toddler being taken into an ambulance. 

Another man who works in the building said the surviving child was heavily soiled and appeared confused.

"I ended up putting the shirt on the little guy to get him covered up enough," the man said, adding he hasn't been able to get the image out of his mind.

"It's just one of the saddest situations I've ever seen in my life."

Reports of loud music, children screaming

CBC has not been able to confirm the exact ages of the brothers, only that the younger child was less than one year old and the surviving sibling is around three.

Another neighbour cried as she described her regret that she wasn't able to intervene.

"It's hard on me," she said. "Like, I don't even want to live [in] this building anymore, because I don't know what else to say. I didn't think she was like that."

Three people recalled hearing loud music coming regularly from the home, while two said they'd previously heard children screaming.

"They should have questioned her when we reported that [the older son] was constantly screaming at the top of his lungs," said the neighbour who wished she had intervened.

"And they should have come and investigated to see what was really going on with her," said the woman, who added the older boy had affectionately called her an "aunt."

She also said that — unlike the family source and another neighbour — she'd never seen any evidence of the accused struggling with drugs.

"She smokes cigarettes. What person doesn't, right? And I never seen anybody with people coming in and there were drugs or anything," she said.

"It was very hard to see that she could do this to a child, [to] her kids."