Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
A woman has appeared in court in relation to the death of an infant in Oxford earlier this year.
The 37-year-old has been granted interim name suppression after appearing in the Christchurch District Court this morning.
Police were called to an Oxford address on the afternoon of 5 August after the baby died.
"A scene examination and a post-mortem examination has since been completed, and subsequent enquiries have led police to laying charges of ill-treatment of a child under 18," a spokesperson said, this morning.
As recently as a fortnight ago, police told RNZ the death was not being treated as suspicious.
The spokesperson this morning said the baby's death remained unexplained.
The woman was charged on Tuesday with neglect and possession of a glass methamphetamine pipe.
Court documents showed police alleged the neglect took place between 4 May and the date of the infant's death.
Failure to provide basic care likely leading to death is punishable by a maximum of ten years' jail.
The woman was expected to reappear in court later today.
