LAKE STEVENS, Wash, - A mother is charged in the death of her infant son for allegedly taping a pacifier to the child's mouth.

Bonnie Desmond, just a month shy of her 20th birthday, could spend the next eight and a half years in prison for what happened Monday inside her apartment.

Police say Desmond called 911 at 11:30 a.m. Monday, saying her four-month-old son was unconscious and not breathing.  When police and paramedics arrived, they found the boy dead.

At first, it looked like a case of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), but then police say Desmond made a stunning confession.  She had taped the boy's pacifier to his mouth to keep it from falling out.

The medical examiner has finished an autopsy on the boy, but has not said exactly how he died.

Carlos Villavicencio, a pediatric doctor, says he has never heard of a case where a child's pacifier was taped to its mouth, but says that it is very dangerous.

"As with any other structure that would be around the baby's mouth or face, there is the danger of suffocation," said Villavicencio.

Desmond is now charged with first-degree manslaughter.

Desmond's fiancé and father of the child walked out of court weeping.  Mark Roe, who is prosecuting the case, says he's seen more than his fair share of crimes against children and they never get any easier.

"Most of us have probably faced the issue of babies crying in the middle of the night, I would guess that most of us have taken different and more responsible courses of dealing with it," said Roe.

Bail for Desmond was set at $500,000.