6-Month-Old Baby Girl Died after her Drunk Father Suffocated her while Asleep in Michigan
Kalamazoo, MI: Authorities in Michigan have charged a couple with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly drowning their 6-month-old baby who got stuck under the couch while the parents were drunk.
Jose Antonio Roldan Jr., 40, and Ladesha Ann Powe, 29, were charged with involuntary manslaughter and second-degree child abuse, and they were required to appear in court by Zoom on Wednesday.
Court records show that in December 2023, while caring for their daughter Faith Hope Roldan, the pair allegedly acknowledged using marijuana and alcohol, as reported by Fox 17.
At approximately 8 a.m. on December 13, 2023, police were summoned to the couple’s residence on Davis Street in Kalamazoo in response to a neonatal distress call.
According to a probable cause document that Fox 17 acquired, Roldan confessed to police that he and the baby had fallen asleep on the living room couch. Upon waking up, he saw the unconscious 6-month-old trapped between the seat and the back cushion.
He roused the baby’s mother Powe and dialed emergency services. The infant was declared deceased upon arrival at the nearby hospital.
According to the court records, Roldan allegedly admitted to drinking nine or ten “tall boys” or 25-ounce cans of alcoholic drinks. Powe reported that she consumed five alcoholic drinks. According to the documents, it is said that they both smoked marijuana.
According to the affidavit, the pair was seen drinking in the living room the night before, as shown in footage from inside the home’s surveillance cameras.
On the couch, Roldan is seen lying down. At the far end of the sofa, with the infant in her arms, sat Powe.
The records indicate that she is observed dozing off. Affidavit states that the infant was seen plummeting from her grasp and got trapped between the father and the couch’s rear cushion.
Claiming to have been “far gone, wasted maybe, like very, very wasted,” Powe reportedly informed authorities that she had fallen asleep holding her daughter.
The baby kicked her feet and cried before turning motionless, according to the court documents, as Roldan smothered her while he was sleeping.
According to the records, Powe starts to wake up, searches the room for the infant, and then goes back to her bedroom to spend the night.
According to the medical examiner, the baby died of mechanical asphyxia and was murdered.
According to Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting, “It’s heartbreaking” was his statement in court. Everything about it was superfluous. That ought never to have transpired.
“They were both entrusted with the care of this little child,” he remarked. “In that respect, they were utterly careless and failed.”
They are all being held on bonds at $100,000 apiece. No one knows if they have pleaded guilty or if they have hired lawyers to represent them.
