A couple in Ohio have been jailed after traces of cocaine were found on their newborn daughter's dummy following the infant's death. Justin Soll, 32, and Shannon Wester, 29, were sentenced over the death of their child in January.
Soll pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in October and was sentenced to between five and 10 years in jail, according to court records. Wester was also jailed for between five and seven years on manslaughter charges. Their respective sentences included 11 months each for cocaine possession.
Incident and Emergency Response
Police in Oregon, Ohio, were called to a property after reports of an unresponsive newborn on February 22. When officers arrived, they confirmed the child was just six days old, according to the Daily Mail.
Her parents said they fed her at around 2am before putting her to sleep. Soll later got up at around 4am and noticed she was not breathing and had vomit coming from her nose and mouth, he said.
Emergency services rushed to the property, where CPR was performed on the infant before she was taken to Nationwide Children's Hospital-Toledo. She died three days later, reports suggest.
Investigation and Charges
During a subsequent search of the property, officers found cocaine and drug paraphernalia stored next to baby care items including pacifiers. Traces of cocaine were also reportedly discovered on the baby's pacifier.
Both Soll and Wester were charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, one count of endangering children and one count of cocaine possession in July. The first count alleged that the baby's death had resulted from committing or attempting to commit child endangerment. The other alleged that it was caused by committing or attempting to commit cocaine possession.
They each pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree felony involuntary manslaughter.
