Woman charged with killing her 38-day-old baby

Staff report

Updated on June 11 with quote from Sheriff Scott and criminal history.

Updated on June 17 with bail information.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Rebecca Lynne Morris, 36, was arrested today after her 38-day-old baby died of a methamphetamine overdose.

On May 18, Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies and EMTs responded to Morris’s home and transported her infant to UF Health Shands, where he was pronounced deceased.

Morris reportedly told deputies that she fell asleep around midnight the night before with the infant and her one-year-old son, and the next thing she remembered was waking up a few minutes before the 911 call was placed at 8:19 a.m. She said that when she realized the baby was not breathing, she ran to a neighbor’s house to call 911. She reportedly told a deputy that she had not smoked marijuana in about four months and had not used any other drugs in two years. A drug screening at the hospital reportedly detected no drugs in her system.

A search warrant was granted for her residence, and deputies reportedly found two marijuana blunts on the island in the kitchen; both appeared to have been smoked. A glass pipe with burnt residue was reportedly found in the silverware drawer, leading to an additional search warrant for illegal narcotics and paraphernalia. The residue on the glass pipe reportedly tested positive for methamphetamine.

On June 5, a toxicology report was received from the Medical Examiner’s Office, indicating that the baby had 47.6 ng/mL of methamphetamine in his system and 23.5 ng/mL of amphetamine, believed to be metabolized methamphetamine.

The second search warrant reportedly produced bottles, syringes, and anything that could have been used to deliver food or narcotics to a child; the detective reported that the residence had not been disturbed since the baby died because Morris had been staying with a family member.

In subsequent interviews, Morris reportedly said she fed the baby a bottle before they all went to sleep, and when she woke up, she remembered that she had not plugged her phone in, so when she noticed that the baby was not breathing, she ran to her neighbor’s house to call 911.

Post Miranda, Morris reportedly said the marijuana blunts belonged to a friend; the friend had reportedly told the detective that he’d taken a few “hits” from a blunt, but that happened outside the house. Morris reportedly told the detective that she had never seen her friend using cocaine, meth, or heroin. She said again that she had not smoked marijuana in about four months.

Morris reportedly said she does not have hard drugs in her house or around her kids; she said she is the only one who takes care of her children and had lived alone with her kids since August 2025.

When the detective showed Morris a picture of the pipe from the silverware drawer, she reportedly said she had never seen the pipe and never opens that drawer. She said she had not seen meth in a long time.

When the detective informed Morris about the toxicology report, she said she had not given the baby meth and repeated that several times. She said, however, that the night before the baby died, she had given him medicine with a syringe that came from the drawer where the glass pipe was found. The detective told her that the amount of methamphetamine in the baby’s system was not consistent with trace amounts from a syringe touching a pipe, for example.

When the detective said he knew she had lied about smoking marijuana because a witness had come forward with text messages showing that they smoked marijuana together on May 15, Morris reportedly became argumentative and said she might have smoked marijuana a few days before the baby died. When the detective asked how she tested negative for drugs if she had smoked marijuana recently, she reportedly requested an attorney.

Morris has been charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child. She has six misdemeanor convictions (one violent); she was arrested in 2021 for child abuse, but the charge was later dropped. She also has a warrant out of Georgia.

Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered her held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold her without bail until trial. On June 17, Judge Denise Ferrero denied the motion and set bail at $1,000,000; she also ordered that if Morris is released, she cannot have any unsupervised contact with children, including her own.

In a Facebook post, Sheriff Chad Scott stated, “This is a heartbreaking case involving the loss of a child whose life was cut tragically short. Our detectives conducted a thorough and deliberate investigation to ensure accountability in this case. We remain committed to seeking justice for this child and holding those responsible accountable for their actions.”

According to the post, this remains an active investigation. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.