She says it was an accident, but prosecutors tell a different story.
A Georgia mother was indicted this month for falling asleep while warming her infant with a hair dryer, killing him. She said it was an accident, but prosecutors allege there's more to the story.
The tragic death happened in Nov. 2023, when Coweta County deputies responded to a call for cardiac arrest involving an infant at Morgan Alyson Creel's home in Newnan, GA, about 40 miles southwest of Atlanta. Creel, then 31, the boy's mother, told the police she was warming the child's feet with a hairdryer when she fell asleep. When she woke up, she said, she found the boy, Carsynn Creel, unresponsive, according to Law & Crime.
Authorities performed CPR at the scene, and while doing so, they noticed severe burns and discoloration on the right side of the boy's body, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. According to Creel's incident report, however, marijuana paraphernalia was also found at her home.
According to Creel's indictment, she caused "cruel and excessive physical and mental pain by leaving a blow-dryer on, and blowing heated air near said child while said accused was passed out and under the influence of a controlled substance."
According to Newnan Coweta Scanner Traffic (NCST), Creel was arrested the day after her son with cruelty to children in the second degree but released on bond. She was booked again in February last year on the same charges but released on bond again.
Further evidence that Morgan was under the influence when the blowdryer accident happened is that she was pulled over for suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI) about a year after Carsynn died. Reports say she was out on bond at the time, and according to Fox 5, she blamed sneezing for her erratic driving. Officers attempted a field sobriety test, which, according to police body cam footage reviewed by Fox 5, showed Morgan unsteady on her feet. Cops reportedly stopped the field sobriety test for "her safety."
Creel was arrested at the traffic stop and, according to NCST, accused of driving under the influence of prescription drugs but freed on bond again. The status of Morgan's DUI allegation is unclear, but in Jan. 2025, Morgan was officially indicted on second-degree murder charges stemming from her son's death. It's unclear if Morgan has entered a plea, if she has legal representation, or when she's next expected to appear in court.
After Creel's recent murder indictment, multiple reports state she was booked at Coweta County Jail. NCST says she posted bond and was freed yet again. No word yet on when her trial will begin.
Social media comments pointed out one of the biggest unanswered questions in Creel's case: Whether she was under the influence or not, why she chose to warm her son with a hairdryer. Comments included, "Fell asleep? None of her decisions make sense." "Did she not have heat?" another added. And finally, "Ohhhhh that's awful," and "Wait what?" -- we'll keep you updated.