9 Investigates: Deadly recalled baby products for sale

Story highlights:

Mother recalls how infant son was strangled by baby monitor cord
Websites, like Craigslist, make it easy to purchase recalled products
CPSC chairman admits problem is nationwide

CHARLOTTE -- Jennifer Irwin remembers her son, Ayden, who had a beaming smile at just a few months old.

"He was just all-around a very happy, happy baby," recalled Irwin.

SLIDESHOW: Behind the scenes as Blair Miller investigates recalled products

But at 6 months old, he died in a tragic accident that his mother still has trouble accepting.

"It was all just so surreal, like it was a dream," said Irwin.

She remembers getting the call that something had happened to Ayden in his crib. The cord from his baby monitor somehow got wrapped around his neck and strangled him.

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"The doctor came in and lifted his head, turned his neck and said, 'See what happened?'" his mother remembers. She said that's when it hit her -- what had happened to her little boy.

Four years later, Jennifer still looks back and says she thought she was doing everything right with the baby monitor and thought it would help protect her son from harm.

"I did what the instructions said. I mounted it like they told me to mount it," said Irwin. "I relied on what they said to keep my child safe. I spent all of this money to keep my child safe and in the end, it killed him."

Irwin said she went from emotionally lost to being angry. Ayden wasn't the only child to die this way in 2010. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, two children died that year in incidents that involved electrical cords on Summer Infant Video Baby Monitors.

The deaths led to a recall of 1.7 million of those monitors. As part of that recall, the company provided warning labels and instructions for the monitors. Irwin still believes it wasn't enough.

"It was a sticker they sent you in the mail," she said.

CLICK HERE: CPSC Chair Challenges Craigslist: It’s Time To ‘Step Up’

Undercover investigation: How shockingly simple it is to purchase recalled items

Eyewitness News spent weeks undercover shopping for recalled products like those baby monitors. Most stores have clear policies to keep recalled products off shelves, but we found recalled items for sale online.

On the website, Craigslist, a Summer baby monitor was listed for sale as well as a Bumbo infant seat -- both recalled for safety reasons. So we decided to buy them, and a Channel 9 producer met the seller in a parking lot in Salisbury.

RESOURCES: Click here to search for recalled products

The seller said the items weren't part of any recalls, but it turns out they were.

Channel 9 anchor Blair Miller stepped in to inform the seller that the items had indeed been recalled. The seller said she didn't realize they had been recalled and that she felt bad for trying to sell them. But she also said Craigslist didn't do enough to prevent her from selling them.

"Basically, they don't give you rules about the whole recall and I think they should," said Kira Mooney. "I believe it would make a difference."

When Channel 9 asked Craigslist about allowing ads for recalled items, company officials sent the following statement:

"Craigslist prohibits the sale of recalled items; notifies users that posting recalled items for sale is prohibited; and deploys automated systems to help prevent posting recalled items."

But nothing kept us from buying it.

Click to check out nationwide interactive recall map

WSOC-TV partners with ABC to get answers

The chairman of the CPSC, Elliot Kaye, told ABC's chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross it's a problem across the country.

"Craigslist unfortunately has been particularly difficult for us," said Kaye. "I contrast that with eBay, for instance. A number of years ago we engaged with eBay. They came up with a number of creative technological solutions that they're able to filter and act on potential products, potential recall products, being on their website. Totally different story with Craigslist. Unfortunately they aren't joining in this partnership and I think they should."

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Ross also asked about Ayden Irwin, whose death led to a nationwide recall and whose mother wishes the CPSC had acted sooner.

"We're motivated every day, every single day, to try to make sure those things don't happen. We really are," said Kaye.

But it's little relief for a mother who's still struggling to understand.

When asked if it would have made a difference if the baby monitor she had would've had a warning sticker, Irwin replied, "Yes, if it would've said, 'Don't place it on a crib,' then I would've never placed it on a crib."

Below is the full statement from Summer Infant in regards to the baby monitor recall:

At Summer Infant, safety is our highest priority. Since 1985 our products have set the standard for product safety and quality in the industry. In 2011 we joined with the U.S. CPSC and JPMA to launch a consumer safety alert and awareness campaign to proactively educate consumers about the safe use of baby monitors with electric cords. From product introduction, our monitors have included consumer instructions that highlighted a warning to avoid a potential entanglement hazard. To amplify this message, we added a strangulation hazard warning label directly to the electrical cords for all new products and also provided a free Safe Installation Guide and additional cord wall-mounting security clips to help parents secure cords properly. We continue to lead in the marketplace as evidenced by our partnership with ASTM International, a global safety standards organization, to promote more widespread awareness. We led the development of a new safety standard, ASTM F2951 Safety Specification for Baby Monitors, which requires the inclusion of cord warning labels. This safety standard was published by ASTM in 2012.

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