Journal Sentinel19%
Milwaukee woman faces felony charge in baby death 1%
By Adrienne Davis12%
7/30/2026, 12:29:38 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 1 faulty reasoning type, including Fundamental Attribution Error, with Fundamental Attribution Error as the most egregious example at 2.4% saturation with 23 hits. Analysis detected 23 faulty-reasoning hits from 958 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 1.2% and a BS Rank of 1% (22,175 of 22,282 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 99.50% of the article peer group.
A Milwaukee woman faces a felony charge after prosecutors allege she smothered her 7-month-old baby to death in July.
Makenzie Critton, 22, is charged with physical abuse of a child, repeated acts causing death.
If convicted, she faces life imprisonment.
According to the complaint, filed July 29:
At about 11:20 a.m.
July 27, Critton called 911 and reported that her 7-month-old baby was not moving or responding.
A dispatcher instructed Critton to perform CPR until first responders arrived.
Milwaukee police officers responded to Critton's residence on North 25th Street about two minutes later and found Milwaukee Fire Department personnel performing CPR on the infant, who was pulseless and not breathing.
After about 20 minutes of CPR, first responders regained a faint pulse and transported the baby to Children's Wisconsin.
The infant arrived at Children's Wisconsin at 12:02 p.m.
Medical staff continued lifesaving efforts for about 24 minutes, but the baby remained pulseless and was pronounced dead at 12:26 p.m.
An autopsy conducted July 28 found no evidence of disease or congenital abnormalities that would explain the infant's death.
The examination also found no injuries that would explain the death, noting that infant suffocation requires very little pressure and injuries would not be expected.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office said the final cause and manner of death remain pending toxicology, histology and a full review of investigative reports.
Before the baby was taken to the hospital, Critton told police she woke up around 5 a.m., fed the infant a bottle, changed the baby's diaper and placed the child in a car seat to sleep before going back to bed.
She said she woke again around 11:20 a.m., used the bathroom and then found the baby unresponsive and not breathing.
Family and friends of Critton reported previous abuse to police
Police then interviewed the infant's grandmother, who said she witnessed Critton smother the baby on June 12 by placing her hand over the infant's nose and mouth because the baby would not stop crying.
The grandmother said she immediately took the infant away after noticing the baby's lips had turned blue and kept the child with her for the rest of the day.
She told investigators she never reported the incident to police but feared Critton would smother the infant again.
A responding officer also observed that Critton showed no emotion while first responders performed CPR or during the ambulance ride to Children's Wisconsin.
Based on those observations, the officer asked Critton whether anything else had happened.
Critton allegedly replied, "I got frustrated," and admitted she intentionally pressed the baby's face into her chest for about five minutes until the infant stopped breathing.
She also admitted she had smothered the baby before and believed the infant would "always come back."
Police then arrested Critton.
At about 12:30 p.m., detectives interviewed a family friend who described herself as "like an aunt" to the infant.
She told investigators she had previously seen Critton shake the baby so violently that the infant's body made a "rattling" noise until the child stopped crying.
She also said she witnessed Critton strike the infant in the face.
The infant's father also told detectives he, Critton and the baby had lived together on North 25th Street for about a month.
He said he was the child's primary caregiver whenever he was home and alleged Critton frequently left the baby in soiled diapers for extended periods when he was away.
The father also described an incident about two to three weeks earlier in which he found the baby's face covered by a blanket.
He told detectives the infant had turned blue and was not breathing before he removed the blanket, revived the child and warned Critton never to cover the baby's face again.
Critton admitted to police she had abused the infant more than once
During a Mirandized interview July 27, Critton told detectives she became frustrated when the infant would not stop crying around 10 a.m.
She said she pressed the baby's head against her chest for about 10 to 15 minutes until the infant stopped crying and moving.
Critton told detectives she saw the baby had turned blue after she released the child but believed the infant would begin breathing again because that had happened during previous suffocation incidents.
She placed the baby in a car seat and went back to bed before later discovering the infant remained blue and had no heartbeat.
She then called for help.
Critton also admitted to suffocating the infant about one or two weeks earlier until the baby's father interrupted her and told her to stop, according to the complaint.
During a second Mirandized interview July 28, detectives confronted Critton with statements from relatives and friends who reported witnessing previous abuse.
Critton admitted her boyfriend had caught her suffocating the infant one to two weeks before the baby's death after she wrapped a blanket around the child's face because the infant was crying.
She also admitted to another incident on June 12, her birthday, when she covered the baby's nose and mouth with her hand until the infant stopped breathing.
According to the complaint, the baby's grandmother witnessed that incident and intervened.
Critton acknowledged that her actions were life-threatening but said she continued because she became frustrated with the infant's crying, according to the complaint.
After detectives informed her the baby had died, Critton cried and said, "I am going to jail for a long time."
Critton's initial appearance is scheduled for July 30, according to online court records.
Adrienne Davis is a general assignment and breaking news reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Got any tips or stories to share?
Contact Adrienne at amdavis@gannett.com.
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