NJ.com reported Deanna Joseph of Alloway Township, N.J. called 911 on Saturday night to report her child was unresponsive.
The toddler was found dead in a car parked in the driveway of Joseph’s home with the engine running. It appears the child might have injured herself in the car seat, Salem County Prosecutor John Lenahan said
The drugged out mother was in the vehicle with her daughter, had left the car parked but running. She had heater on what was a cool night.
The exact cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner’s office.
Joseph was charged with second-degree child endangerment. No attorney information was available.
Court records show it is Joseph’s third arrest in nine years on charges related to neglect of a child.
Joseph was convicted of cruelty and neglect of a child in 2008 in Superior Court in Burlington County and sentenced to five years probation. She had been charged after her 11-year-old and 2-year-old children were found alone at home, by police who found Joseph strung out on drugs in a parking lot. This children were then temporarily taken into state custody.
Records show a pattern of negligence as she was arrested again in 2014, after being found unresponsive at an apartment in 2014 while her infant son was found bathing in inches of water nearby.  Next to her were spoons and glassine envelopes containing heroin residue, along with a few rocks of crack cocaine.
Her priors stretch back 20 years on charges from seven separate arrests, including possession of heroin and cocaine and resisting arrest or eluding after being instructed to stop.
It is unclear if she was being monitored by the child protection division of the state Department of Child and Families.
If convicted of the current charges, Joseph could face up to 10 years in prison.