Mother Who Drowned Infant Daughter Charged in Death of Second Baby Girl

A Michigan mother who was convicted in the drowning death of one baby girl in 2011 has been charged with murder in the 2016 death of another child.

Lisa Rae Bryan, 32, was arraigned on Wednesday, and faces charges of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and obstruction of justice, reports MLive. The Emmet County resident was charged as a second-offense habitual offender because of her prior conviction.

Bryan’s daughter, Isabella Powrozek, was born on Oct. 6, 2016. On Nov. 1, 2016, Emmet County Sheriff’s Office investigators were called to the McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey, Michigan to respond to an infant death. The baby was found unresponsive with her mother, reports UpNorthLive.

According to court documents, Bryan told police different stories when asked about what led to her daughter’s death. She later admitted to sleeping in the same bed with Isabella while holding her close to the chest.

Isabella was born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.

Bryan was not arrested in Isabella’s death until Tuesday, following the investigation.

In 2011, Bryan was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in the death of another daughter in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In that case, the baby died from drowning, 50 days after her birth.

Bryan was sentenced to four years, but only spent 15 months in prison, reports CBS News.

“Unfortunately, a young infant was tragically killed and what will happen now is it will be up to the judicial system to determine the outcome of this case,” Emmet County Sheriff Peter Wallin told UpNorthLive. “Unfortunately a sad thing happened, but it was good work on my deputies to gather all this information, because it took a lot of work to put it all together.”

According to MLive.com, Bryan will be in court again for a probably cause conference on Jan. 24. A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 31.

Photo credit: Emmet County Sheriff’s Office