Crow Wing County couple neglected daughter with autism who died while confined to bed, charges say
A Pine River, Minnesota, couple is accused of leaving their two daughters with autism alone and confined to safety beds for hours at a time until one was ultimately crushed by the bed and died.
The couple, ages 57 and 49, are each charged with second-degree manslaughter and contributing to need for child protection services. They were arrested last week and their 12-year-old surviving daughter was placed into protective custody.
The criminal complaint says that deputies responded to the home around 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 25 to find the mother performing CPR on her 10-year-old daughter. Investigators believed that she had been dead for several hours already, and the mother admitted that she hadn't checked in on her daughters in 10 to 12 hours. The husband said that when he found the girl, her head was pinned under the metal frame of the bed.
The complaint says the 10-year-old's bedroom was bare except for the safety bed, which she had used since she was 2 to 3 years old. The bed had a frame continuing up 4 to 5 feet and a covering, which the girl was unable to unzip. She was completely confined, documents say.
An investigator spoke with a doctor, who told her that the safety beds are designed for sleep, not confinement during the day. On a subsequent visit, an sergeant noticed the 12-year-old girl was zipped into her bed.
The parents described the 10-year-old as nonverbal, an "escape artist" and a "fecal painter," documents say. Investigators noted her bed and mattress were soiled with feces and urine.
A search warrant showed the husband had sent his wife photos of the broken bed days before. However, the wife reported to a deputy that she had never seen the frame of the bed broken or out of place, documents say.
Investigators met with a medical supply technician, who provided the family with the bed in 2020 and installed it. The couple had ordered some replacement parts, but they had refused the help of a technician to fix the bed, according to the complaint. The technician said the bed had been broken for some time.
Charges say the parents receive financial support through a waiver program which pays them to care for their two daughters, as they have high needs. However, records showed that between Jan. 1 and Aug. 20, the husband had been at a casino 116 days, and his wife had been there 68 days.
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