Dead baby’s mother denies using, knowing anything about meth in home

A mother arrested after her three-month-old daughter died with methamphetamine in her system told a court Friday she had no idea anyone in her home was using the drug.

Alison Muise, 42, is on trial charged with one count of failing to provide the necessaries of life.

Layla Mattern-Muise was rushed to hospital Feb. 2, 2022, after Muise and the child’s father Christopher Mattern awoke to find her not breathing. She was pronounced dead that day.

A ban prohibiting the publication of Layla’s name was lifted Thursday.

Muise testified Friday she had never used methamphetamine and was unaware Mattern and a housemate had been using the drug in the home during Layla’s short life.

“I wouldn’t know what (methamphetamine) looked like,” Muise told court.

Muise said she had never seen anyone using meth in the home and did not know some of the people alleged to have visited the home.

Muise’s testimony about drug use in the home was at odds with that of former housemate David Schindel, who told court Wednesday that he, Muise and Mattern all used the drug at the home, which was a frequent destination for several drug-using neighbours and friends.

Mattern pleaded guilty to failing to provide necessaries of life and was sentenced last month to 21 months of time served.

An autopsy detected the presence of methamphetamine in the child’s bloodstream, but not the amount, and a cause of death could not be determined, court heard at Mattern’s sentencing.

Muise told court Friday that Layla was born with respiratory issues and spent a month in the neonatal intensive-care unit before Muise took her home.

Muise said the day Layla died she had been making breakfast when she “heard a godawful sound.”

“Chris was running down the stairs (with Layla)… I could see she was not breathing,” she said.

Muise said she told Mattern to call 911 but he couldn’t find her phone. Schindel came upstairs from the basement “and I yelled at somebody to call 911,” she said.

Muise said she put a 911 operator on speakerphone as she and Mattern followed their instructions for CPR until paramedics arrived minutes later.

Court has heard police found drug paraphernalia throughout the home.

When shown a picture of what Crown attorney Jennifer Malabar said was a meth pipe found in a bedside table drawer, Muise said: “It’s some sort of contraption, yes,” but could not confirm it was what Malabar said it was.

Another picture taken the same day Layla died showed a baby bottle on Muise’s bed that was found to have traces of methamphetamine.

“I can’t confirm I fed her out of that bottle or how long it had been on the bed,” she said.

The trial will conclude with closing arguments at a later date.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca