Baby Suffocated in Couch Cushions Under Weight of Her Sleeping Father, Who Drank 10 'Tall Boys': Police



A Michigan couple is charged with involuntary manslaughter after allegedly smothering their 6-month-old daughter who became wedged in the couch while they were intoxicated, authorities said.

On Wednesday, Jose Antonio Roldan Jr., 40, and Ladesha Ann Powe, 29, appeared in court via Zoom after being charged with involuntary manslaughter and second-degree child abuse, local news outlet WOOD-TV reports.

The couple allegedly admitted to drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana while caring for their daughter Faith Hope Roldan in December 2023, court documents state, according to Fox 17.

Police were called to the couple’s home on Davis Street in Kalamazoo at about 8 a.m. on Dec. 13, 2023, about a report of a baby who wasn’t breathing, WOOD-TV reports.

Roldan allegedly told police he fell asleep on the couch in the living room with the baby next to him, a probable cause affidavit obtained by Fox 17 says. When he woke up, he found the 6-month-old wedged between the seat and the back cushion and unresponsive.
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