PIKE COUNTY, Ala (WDHN) — A Pike County Woman has been arrested and charged after the stillborn baby she gave birth to had traces of drugs, including fentanyl, in his system, according to District Attorney James Tarbox.

On May 23, the Pike County Sheriff’s Office arrested Chelsey Redmon-Zellers and charged her with Chemical Endangerment of a Child Resulting In Death, a Class A Felony.

According to James Tarbox, Coffee-Pike County District Attorney, Redmon-Zellers recently gave birth to a stillborn baby boy at the Troy Regional Medical Center following a full-term pregnancy.

Tarbox says that at the time of birth and throughout her pregnancy, Redmon-Zellers tested positive for numerous illegal substances, and the baby was sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences where a toxicology report showed that at the time of death, he had elevated levels of methamphetamine and fentanyl in his system.

As a result of the continued drug exposure, the baby suffered an intrauterine fetal demise, according to Tarbox.

Redmon-Zellers was booked into the Pike County Jail on a $200,000 bond.

This is a tragic situation where one of the most vulnerable among us died due to the actions of the one who should have cared the most, the baby’s mother. It is this office’s hope that pregnant women who intend to use drugs and other harmful substances will seek the help and assistance they need rather than follow a path that leads to the death of their baby.

Coffee-Pike County District Attorney James Tarbox

The investigation was worked by the Pike County Sheriff’s Office, Enterprise Police Department, Coffee County Coroner’s Office, Pike County Coroner’s Office, the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, and the 12th Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.