LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — A northern Indiana coroner is warning parents not to sleep with their young children following the county's fifth death this year involving youngsters who suffocated while “co-sleeping.”

Tippecanoe County Coroner Donna Avolt says a Lafayette couple awoke Wednesday to discover their 4-month-old son's lifeless body beside them.

The Journal & Courier reports Avolt's office is awaiting toxicology results to confirm preliminary indications the death was accidental.
If those tests come back as expected, Avolt says they'll show the baby's death was entirely preventable.

While some parents view co-sleeping as a way to bond with their children, the practice puts children at risk of suffocation if a parent rolls onto them while sleeping.

Avolt says parents who sleep with a child put the youngster's life in danger “pure and simple.”