Anna Englund and Miles Basellio (L) pictured on May 24, 2023 via the suspect’s Facebook, (R) the baby pictured in a 9News report.
A Colorado mother who was arrested over the weekend and charged with abusing and murdering her 2-month-old son may have been in the middle of a mental health crisis, police in Boulder say.
The Boulder Police Department identified the suspect as Anna Louise Englund, a 29-year-old living at a Portland Place residence in North Boulder. Authorities said that the defendant drove off from the home with baby Miles Basellio on Saturday afternoon.
“On Saturday, June 10, at approximately 4:30 p.m., police responded to a residence in North Boulder to conduct a welfare check on a woman who was possibly having a mental health crisis,” cops said. “Witnesses reported that Ms. Anna Louise Englund, 29, had taken her two-month-old infant from her home and driven away in her car.”
Englund’s whereabouts remained a mystery for several hours after an “attempt to locate” alert was issued, investigators said. After 10 p.m. on Saturday, the defendant was allegedly found on her way to the hospital, where her son was pronounced dead.
“At approximately 10:20 p.m. Englund’s car was located en route to Boulder Community Hospital. Officers contacted her in the parking lot and rushed the baby into the emergency department where he was pronounced dead at 10:48 p.m.,” police said.
Cops said that the cause and manner of the baby’s death is under investigation by the coroner’s office. There was no information about an alleged motive, but 9News spoke with the victim’s father, who said that Englund had been going through postpartum psychosis and had made threats to harm herself and Miles.
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“I can’t comprehend, like, the medical base backing for her acting that way,” the unidentified father reportedly said in an interview. “I can’t comprehend her internal thought process. It’s weird that you can form a life with somebody and this happens and it’s like, what? You wouldn’t think that was that person.”
The father reportedly said that Englund had on two occasions in recent weeks gone to Boulder Community Hospital for help. That’s the hospital where Miles was pronounced dead.
Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold called the case “a tragic situation.”
“Our hearts are with the child’s family during this terrible and difficult time,” Herold said. “This is a tragic situation, and we are thinking about the child’s loved ones as they grieve all that has happened.”
Boulder County jail records, which listed the defendant as 30 rather than 29, note that Englund is charged with first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death.
The defendant was booked into jail before 8 a.m. on Sunday.
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