Police in Michigan allege that after a night of drinking, a couple choked their baby between the cushions of their sofa. The couple has been arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter. The kid was just six months old.
According to an investigation into the criminal docket in Michigan’s Eighth Circuit, Ladesha Ann Powe, 29, and Jose Roldan Jr., 40, were charged on March 12 even though the incident happened a year ago.
Powe and Roldan are accused with second-degree criminal child abuse and involuntary manslaughter. Powe was charged on April 3 and is scheduled to appear before Judge Kathleen Hemingway for a probable cause conference on April 17.
In contrast to Powe, Roldan Jr. has an examination hearing set for April 30. He will be seen for a probable cause hearing on April 23.
The pair has a $100,000 cash/surety bond set for each of them. A Monday request for comment from the attorneys for Powe and Roldan Jr. was not immediately answered.
Following five drinks at her house in December of last year, Powe acknowledged to being “a lot far gone, wasted maybe, like, very, very wasted,” according to a report from local CBS station WWMT last week.
Then she added that while holding her 6-month-old daughter, Faith Hope Roldan, in her arms, she slept off on the couch. According to reports, Roldan Jr., the child’s father, told authorities he consumed nine to ten “tall boys,” or beers that weighed around 25 ounces each.
He also admitted to authorities that he slept off on the couch. The pair also reportedly acknowledged using marijuana before going to bed.
According to the prosecution, video taken inside the couple’s living room seems to show Powe holding the kid just before it tumbles out of her arms and crashes in between Roldan Jr. and a couch cushion.
After that, Roldan Jr. allegedly adjusted himself on the couch before smothering the infant. Before she ceased moving, there was some crying, according to the publication.
Shortly afterward, Powe is said to have woken up, looked around for her daughter, and then gone back to her bedroom without coming out again.
Roldan Jr. discovered the baby behind the cushion when he woke up on the couch and dialed 911. Her respiration had stopped.
NBC subsidiary A local medical examiner stated to WOOD-TV that the infant’s cause of death was asphyxiation.
Monday, when Law&Crime reached out to the prosecution for comment, they did not immediately answer. However, last week, Kalamazoo County prosecutor Jeff Getting stated he had seen the footage of what transpired in Powe and Roldan Jr.’s living room.
“I’ve seen it and it’s not something that anyone should have to watch,” he stated. “It’s horrific.”
A maximum punishment of 15 years each is imposed on the parents.
