MILWAUKEE — Authorities have identified the 19-year-old mother who was found dead in her apartment with her infant child, who was found alive but dehydrated.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office identified the mother as Audrey Autumn Davis of Milwaukee. The child was brought to the hospital Thursday after a foul smell drew authorities to the apartment, in the 2800 block of West Wisconsin Avenue just before 7 a.m.
An autopsy concludes no trauma was found and that the incident is being investigated as a probable natural death, according to the ME's report.
The report states the woman's decomposing body and the child were found on a bed in the apartment.
Authorities had to force their way into the apartment because the deadbolt was engaged, where they found the mother and her child. The baby was still alive but appeared to be very dehydrated "with a dull cry," the ME's report states. The child was brought to Children's Hospital.
Authorities say the tenant living in the apartment above contacted police earlier on Thursday with complaints of a "foul odor coming from below" and wanted a welfare check.
The mother was last known to be alive on either Oct. 10 or Oct. 12 by neighbors, the report states.
The child was born on Sept. 4 of this year.
"I live across the hall from her," a neighbor named James said. "Our apartments almost face each other, and so we were smelling a funny smell, so we all were getting on edge."
Neighbor Vera Cowley said she called the police.
"They were kicking the door, the baby still never cry, and the baby cry when they picked it up," Cowley said.
"It makes me very sad that happened," said neighbor Mark Gremillion. "Now that they don’t have a mom."
"Nobody knows what really happened," Gremillion said. "It’s a big apartment building, a lot of people in there."
"If I don’t see you three to four days, I'm going to check on you," Cowley said. "And I feel like as neighbors we need to do that more."
