Kimberly Steeley: ‘I did not smother my babies’

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Cooperstown, N.Y. - Kimberly Steeley was very composed on the witness stand Friday morning, vividly describing what she says happened on the two separate nights that each of her twin preemie babies died in her bed with her.

The 29-year-old from Decatur, in eastern Otsego County about 20 miles east of Cooperstown, although composed, did shed many tears while testifying.

Steeley is charged with two counts of manslaughter in the deaths of her twins, Bonde and Liam.

Prosecutors say she smothered them by falling asleep on top of them.

Her defense says the babies died of natural causes, specifically Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS.

Steeley testified that when she awakened each time to find each baby unresponsive that there was nothing was blocking their airways, not any part of her body, not any bedding, any clothing or any pillows.

The twins were born on May 15th of 2018, five weeks premature. They were due on June 21st.

The baby boy named Liam came home at just 11 days old on May 26th, weighing only around 5 pounds.

The little girl named Bonde came home on June 4th at about the same weight.

Steeley says that night, Bonde, on her first night out of the hospital, wouldn't settle down and was sweaty, so after repeatedly trying to get her to fall asleep in her basinet, she had her lay in bed with her.

Steeley says she intended to put Bonde back in her basinet, but admits she fell asleep, "I was laying down, I had her head on my pelvic bone and her little arms and legs over on my legs. I ended up falling asleep."

Steeley says she awakened about an hour and a half later around 4:30 A.M. on June 5th, 2018, and found Bonde was in the same position she was in when she fell asleep but was unresponsive, "Picked up my phone, I called 911, first thing out of my mouth was my baby's not breathing and I elbowed Tommy, elbowed him to get him to wake up."

Bonde was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Steeley admits doing the exact same thing 11 days later with her other baby Liam despite being told by a nurse that it was best not to sleep with the baby in the bed with her, "I had him sleeping with me, he was very very fussy, first time ever because usually he would sleep for three or four hours at a clip and then wake up but this night I was up with him all night. Every time I put him in the basinet he got uncomfortable. I take him back out, I try to put him back in. When he'd fall asleep and wake up he wanted my body warmth."

A short time later Steeley says she woke up to an unresponsive Liam, "He was in the same position and he was white, he was pale and just lifeless. It felt like a nightmare because it was happening all over again. I elbowed Tommy awake, I was on the phone with 911 and I was running down the steps with my son."

Liam was also pronounced dead at the hospital.

When asked by her defense attorney Andrew Van Buren, why she had Liam sleep with her in her bed after the recommendation by a nurse not to, Steeley replied, "Because I know Bonde was not smothered in anyway whatsoever."

On Tuesday, Steeley's boyfriend, the father of the children, Tommy Hewitt, testified against Steeley, saying they both had been repeatedly using drugs, and that is why he believes Steeley caused the deaths of the babies by passing out on them because she was high.

Steeley testified that she wasn't high on drugs, but did admit she may have taken a prescription Zanax the day before Bonde died but doesn't remember for sure.

Steeley says Hewitt was the only one on drugs and she painted a very horrific picture of him when testifying.

She says he had been taking heroin and methamphetamine.

Hewitt did have to be released from a drug treatment center on Tuesday to testify in this case.

Steeley says she had to be repeatedly drug tested after going through rehab herself in 2017, and was consistently drug tested while she was pregnant and never failed a drug test.

She also said that Hewitt was no help at all in caring for the newborns, so she had to basically do everything, including staying up with them all night, until they fell asleep.

She also says Hewitt physically assaulted her in 2017, about a month before she found out she found out she was pregnant, "He choked me to the point of almost passing out. When I screamed for help, he punched me in the face."

When asked by her attorney if she was upset with Hewitt, Steeley replied, "Upset is not even the word, betrayal. To be able to conjure up a lie like that about your own children you have to be ill in the head."

So why is Steeley charged with manslaughter and Hewitt is not, since he was also in bed, could he have possibly been the one that rolled over on the babies?

Otsego County District Attorney John Meuhl says each time that the babies ended up unresponsive, they were next to Kimberly and it's believed she rolled over on them, smothering them to death.

The jury is expected to get the case on Monday. Court resumes at 8:45 A.M..