A tragic incident has a Michigan couple facing 15 years in prison in connection to the suffocation of their infant daughter.
Jose Antonio Roldan Jr., 40, and Ladesha Ann Powe, 29, were charged with involuntary manslaughter and second-degree child abuse in what Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting told WOOD-TV is a “heartbreaking” incident that “should have never happened.”
According to court documents obtained by the outlet, when officers responded to the couple’s home on December 13, 2023, they found the 6-month-old baby, identified as Faith Hope Roldan, not breathing.
Hours before, the couple were drinking multiple beers and smoking weed. Roldan specifically had ten 25-ounce beer cans. Powe admitted to having five beers.
Roldan and Powe — with the baby in her arms — fell asleep on the couch, WWMT reported. She informed investigators that she was “very, very wasted” at that point.
Footage from inside their home shows Faith falling from her mother’s grip and landing between a couch cushion and Roldan.
At one point, according to local outlets, Powe woke up looking for Faith before retiring to the bedroom without her baby girl.
Faith was found between the seat and the back cushion after being smothered and smushed when Roldan re-adjusted his body at some during the night. Roldan reportedly weighs about 300 pounds.
The baby cried and kicked before she died, officials said.
“I’ve seen it and it’s not something that anyone should have to watch. It’s horrific,” Getting said.
When Roldan woke up and realized what happened, he alerted Powe and they called the police.
“Being a parent, it means being responsible and it means taking care of your kids, not just ignoring the risk that you’re putting them in,” Getting added, per WOOD-TV. “When you choose to use drugs or alcohol or other substances that interfere with your ability to be a parent, then you can’t do it while your kids are around and you certainly can’t do it while you’re responsible for caring for them.”
The local medical examiner confirmed that Faith’s manner of death was a homicide, and the cause was mechanical asphyxia, per the outlets.
Roldan and Powe are in custody on $100,000 bond. They were arraigned last Wednesday. The couple’s other children were placed in the care of other family members.
