Inset: Lydia M. Ginger (Cole County Jail). Background: The hotel where Ginger allegedly tried to smother her children (Google Maps).
A Missouri mother of five faces accusations of attempting to murder several of her children, including a newborn, by allegedly trying to smother them with pillows in a motel room.
Lydia M. Ginger was arrested on Sunday, charged with four counts of first-degree domestic assault, three counts of endangering a child’s welfare, and one count of child abuse or neglect, as per documents. According to the probable cause affidavit, police were called around 11 p.m. to the Capitol Plaza Hotel and Convention Center in the 400 block of West McCarty Street, Jefferson City, after a child under 12 dialed 911 and reported an attack by their mother.
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The child, named “Victim 1” in court documents, informed the emergency dispatcher that their mother had tried to strangle them and threatened to harm their siblings in the hotel room. During the incident, the child managed to lock themselves in the bathroom and contact police, identifying the attacker as Ginger and saying she attempted to suffocate them by smothering their face with a pillow.
The dispatcher reported hearing yelling in the background during the call.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders said they located Ginger in the hallway of the hotel just outside of the room where she was staying with her five children, all of whom were under age 12.
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“Ginger appeared highly intoxicated and reported to officers that Victim 1 did what they had to do, referring to dialing 911 for help,” the affidavit states.
The child who called 911 told investigators that in addition to Ginger smothering them, they also witnessed Ginger “placing a pillow over the face of Victim 2 with a pillowcase.” Police noted that victim 2 was “less than 3 months old.”
“Victim 1 reported Ginger telling all of the children that if ‘one dies,’ they ‘all die,”” police wrote in the document.
A child under the age of 8 identified only as “Victim 3” allegedly told authorities that Ginger attempted to smother them with a pillow as well.
Ginger was detained and transported to the police department for an interview after being read her Miranda rights.
“Ginger admitted there was a disturbance between she and the children, but stated she ‘blacked out’ and couldn’t remember,” per the affidavit. “Ginger admitted that she ‘snapped,’ adding that she’s not denying that suffocation with pillows happened — but she couldn’t remember citing her being ‘blacked out’ due to postpartum depression. Ginger stated that if her children stated it happened, then it ‘probably’ happened.”
Police searched the hotel room and recovered multiple empty bottles of alcohol along with four pillows, two of which had the pillowcases removed, which investigators said was “consistent with Victim 1’s story of events.”
Ginger — who is also identified as Lydia Gillispie — is currently being held in Cole County Jail without bond after being deemed a danger to the community. She was ordered to have no contact with any of the victims.
No court dates were listed on the docket as of Monday afternoon.
