Rebecca Kipp: Mom sentenced to 12 years in prison as 3-month-old son suffocates to death after being left alone for 'hours'

A Warner Robins mother pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Monday, December 5, 2022 in connection with the 2019 suffocation death of her 3-month-old son Nickolas Bryan, who was found dead on a couch at a home in southern Bibb County. At a hearing in Bibb Superior Court, Rebecca Taylor Kipp, 25, was found guilty of negligent homicide and given a sentence of 12 years in jail and an additional eight years of probation. According to a statement from the Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office, on June 11, 2019, a call to 911 was placed to Kipp's home in the 2800 block of Regina Drive. According to a statement issued by the police, the infant was found dead "laying face down on a sofa, where Kipp had placed him hours previously." According to The Telegraph, the baby's face was allegedly trapped between two couch cushions, preventing him from moving around on his own. "The 3-month-old baby was discovered on the couch in an awkward posture that he couldn't have put himself into. After Kipp surrendered herself to authorities in October 2019, investigators reportedly stated, "The infant was found face down, between the pillows. During her lunch break, Nickolas' grandmother reportedly rushed back to the house and found her grandson's body. There are rumors that she called 911. Kipp was away from home for about three hours when Nickolas was left unattended on the couch, according to data collected by investigators from a motion detector inside Kipp's house. The medical examiners reportedly came to the conclusion after the child's autopsy that he most likely suffocated to death on the couch cushion because he was unable to lift his head. According to the press release, Kipp gave detectives "multiple stories" about what happened during the investigation into Nickolas' death before "finally admitting that she had been frustrated with the child and left him unattended on the sofa while she slept from about 10:00 a.m. until her mother came home at about 1:30 p.m.." Investigators found that Kipp was experiencing postpartum depression at the time of Nickolas' death. “My Office will always go the extra mile to uncover the facts and to prosecute cases involving injury or death to the youngest and most vulnerable, members of our communities,” Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney Anita R Howard said in a statement. According to a report by Law&Crime, she added that the information gathered by the authorities suggested that Nickolas' death was the result of "negligent homicide." The district attorney's office also commended the Bibb County Sheriff's Department "for its diligent efforts in discovering the tragic truth" regarding Nickolas' passing.