Lawrenceburg Woman Sentenced After Pleading Guilty to Reckless Homicide

The infant death case resulted in a maximum sentence.

Raeleigh Phillips-Steelsmith.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - Sentencing was handed down this week for a Lawrenceburg woman who pleaded guilty to Reckless Homicide (Level 5 Felony). 

Raeleigh Phillips-Steelsmith, 24, received the maximum sentence of six years at the lndiana Department of Corrections, stemming from an infant death investigation on Bellaire Drive that began in March of 2024. 

According to court documents, Phillips-Steelsmith had left the infant strapped in a car seat for approximately 14 hours. She stated that she had fallen asleep and found her infant son slouched in the car seat. 

The infant was cold, blue, and limp. Friends of Phillips-Steelsmith began performing CPR on the unresponsive infant and quickly transported to St. Elizabeth Dearborn, where the infant was pronounced deceased. 

An autopsy performed showed the probable diagnosis of death was positional asphyxia, a form of asphyxia which occurs when someone's position prevents the person from breathing adequately. People may die from positional asphyxia accidentally, when the mouth and nose are blocked, or where the chest may be unable to fully expand. 

"The death of an infant is horrible and certainly tragic. However, the circumstances of the death and the recklessness exhibited by Phillips-Steelsmith constitute Reckless Homicide," stated Prosecutor Lynn Deddens.

At the sentencing hearing, evidence was presented by both the State of Indiana and counsel for Phillips-Steelsmith. Judge McLaughlin found that aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors, resulting in a maximum sentence.