A woman has been charged with child neglect after an infant died at a North Canterbury home in what police called “unexplained” circumstances in August.

The 37-year-old will appear before the Christchurch District Court today, charged with ill-treatment of a child under 18 and possessing methamphetamine utensils.

Officers were called to an Oxford home on August 5 after being advised about the death of a baby, police said.

“A scene examination and a post-mortem examination has since been completed, and subsequent inquiries have led police to laying charges of ill-treatment of a child under 18.

“The baby’s death remains unexplained and enquiries are ongoing,” police said.

The infant who died was only two months old, the NZ Herald reported.

In August, Oranga Tamariki confirmed it had been notified of the baby’s death.

“We are assisting police in trying to understand the circumstances that led to this,” said the agency’s deputy chief executive of tamariki and whānau services Rachel Leota.

Oxford is about 50km northwest of Christchurch.

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