Mom stopped to get cigarettes while driving 'blue, limp and cold' choking baby to hospital

A mother in Alabama has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after she was found responsible for the death of her 18-month-old baby .

Samantha McCormack’s son Enzo was found unresponsive outside a hardware store in Blount County, in 2019. According to court documents, when emergency responders found the baby, he was turning blue, and was limp and cold to the touch. They transported him to the Children’s of Alabama, where he passed away three days later.

The Blount County Sargent obtained a statement from Samantha McCormack in which she stated that she was using the bathroom at her home when she heard a noise coming from the living room. Realising that her son was choking on a piece of cereal, she decided to have him examined at the hospital, but first stopped at the store to buy cigarettes and gas, according to court records.

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At the store, McCormack spoke with Heather Elmore - her boyfriend’s sister - who exited the store to check on Enzo and found him unresponsive, according to court documents. While investigating, authorities began to suspect the child abuse had been ongoing. According to a statement given to deputies, McCormack’s boyfriend, Robert Elmore Jr, admitted to dropping Enzo because he pulled his chest hairs.

At the time, McCormack had two other children - Enzo’s twin sister and his older brother Jesse. In 2023, Jesse was beaten to death by his birth father, Joshua Clark. Both McCormack and Elmore were charged with aggravated child abuse before Jesse’s death. Enzo’s twin sister is now the only surviving sibling.

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As well as asphyxiation, Enzo allegedly suffered blunt force trauma and had been shaken before he passed away. According to investigators, McCormack didn't call authorities because she feared she would lose custody of her three children again.

District Attorney Pamela Casey said in a statement that the entire case was “horrifying” adding: “I cannot imagine the pain and suffering this child endured before succumbing to his injuries. I cannot understand someone doing what Elmore did. But, as a mother, I cannot understand how a mother could leave their child in the care of someone the mother knows to have been abusive to the child. Obviously, there is nothing we can do to bring Enzo back. But, we have sought justice for Enzo. Elmore and McCormack will be held accountable within the extent the law allows.”

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