Andrea Bryson's baby daughter could be heard crying from Room 120 at the Super 8 hotel about 9 p.m. Saturday night.

But a few minutes later, the 13-month-old's cries settled down, said Bryson's neighbor, Natacha Briphile.

Sunday afternoon, a housekeeper and Bryson's mother – who went to the hotel after not being able to reach Bryson on her cell phone – made a horrifying discovery when they opened the door to her room.

There, they found Bryson lying on the carpet and bathroom floor, unresponsive, with her infant daughter next to her. Bryson's mother began screaming, Briphile said. The 44-year-old mother was dead of an apparent drug overdose.

"I think she relapsed that day, and it killed her," said Bryson's best friend, Melissa Bennett, a Brockton native now living in Boston.

"It's just so tragic and so sad," Bennett, 40, said Monday. "I'm still in shock."

Bryson's death came after her decade-long struggle with heroin addiction, and after she had been in and out of recovery, said Bennett, herself a recovering heroin addict.

The two friends spoke often about recovery and attended meetings together, said Bennett, who now works as a counselor at St. Francis House, a homeless shelter in Boston.

Bennett said she spoke with Bryson a day before she died and her friend gave no indications that anything was wrong.

Bryson's death is not being investigated as a criminal matter, Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz's office said Monday.

Police on Sunday told The Enterprise that a woman had died of an apparent overdose at the hotel, and that authorities found a 13-month-old girl cuddled next to the body.

The district attorney's office Monday did not comment on the cause of death. An autopsy has been scheduled, but results will be pending further testing, said Assistant District Attorney Bridget Norton Middleton.

Brockton police received a call at about 1:43 p.m. Sunday reporting an unresponsive woman in a Super 8 hotel room at 385 Westgate Drive. The state police CPAC unit also responded to investigate.

The infant girl was taken to a local hospital but appeared to be in good condition, Middleton said Monday.

The state Department of Children and Families is investigating and the infant girl is now with family, agency spokeswoman Cayenne Isaksen said Monday.

Bryson's family could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Meanwhile, friends of Bryson on Monday described her as a vivacious, kind, attractive and generous person who never complained.