Mom charged with child abuse accused of giving baby cigarette butts to teethe on

A Phoenix, Arizona woman is facing child abuse charges after she gave her baby and two toddlers an over the counter sleep aid intended for adults.

Shelby Henrickson’s 10-month-old was rushed to the hospital on Nov 4 after she gave him ZzzQuil. The product packaging on ZzzQuil, with the main ingredient of diphenhydramine, is clearly labeled for adults only:

According to court documents obtained by AZFamily, Henrickson told officers that she not only gave her 10-month-old ZzzQuil, but she provided her 2 and 3-year-olds with the adult sleep aid as well.

When a toxicology test was done diphenhydramine was not the only drug found in the baby’s system as it was learned that he was also suffering from nicotine poisoning.

While it is not clear how the baby boy ingested the nicotine, a doctor who examined him said it looked like he was teething and had been chewing on cigarette butts.

At the time of her arrest, Henrickson was staying in a motel room with her children and their father. She was booked on 1 count of child abuse and 2 counts of endangerment.

The baby was released after 48 hours at the hospital. he and his two older siblings have been placed under the care of DCS.