MIAMI – A South Florida mother was arrested Sunday after an autopsy revealed that her 1-month-old daughter suffocated and had cocaine in her system.
Roxxanne Benales, 31, was booked into jail Sunday on a charge of aggravated child abuse.
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Her arrest was the result of an investigation into the death of her daughter, Ayla Cappas, who died in her sleep at a southwest Miami-Dade County home in April.
The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department's autopsy report listed Ayla's cause of death to be "probable asphyxia" from an "unsafe sleep environment (bed sharing)." Cocaine exposure is listed as a contributory cause.
A toxicology report showed that 0.010 milligrams of cocaine were found in Ayla's bloodstream at the time of her death.
According to an arrest affidavit, Benales admitted to smoking crack cocaine in the presence of her daughter before her death.
Police said Benales told homicide investigators that she was planning to return to her hometown of Indianapolis on a Greyhound bus Sunday evening. Investigators arrested her before she left town.
Ayla's father, Alvaro Cappas, was also arrested Thursday on an unrelated battery charge. An arrest affidavit said that he grabbed Benales by the arm and threw her to the ground during a domestic dispute with his fiancée.
"Ayla's death was deeply saddening for all of us at DCF," Florida DCF spokesman Dr. David Frady said in an email. "This family was known to the child welfare system; however, there are not any other children in the care of these two individuals at this time."
Frady said the child protective investigation is ongoing and said all other details regarding the family are deemed confidential by Florida law.
Benales was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $50,000 bond.