KENT COUNTY, Mich. — A 27-year-old Kent County mother is accused of felony murder and felony child abuse in connection with the death of her 2-year-old daughter.

That's according to the Kent County Prosecutor Christopher Becker, who confirmed Monday morning that 27-year-old Irene Whitehead is preliminarily facing those charges. The court dated those charges to Sept. 3, 2025, the day that Ryleigh Whitehead died.

She has not yet been formally arraigned, but was booked into the Kent County Jail on Thanksgiving Day.

Whitehead has a $5,000,000 bond ahead of her arraignment hearing on Monday afternoon.

13 ON YOUR SIDE first spoke with Irene Whitehead in September 2023 when her 3-month-old daughter Ryleigh was hospitalized with what she said was parainfluenza-4.

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