A Michigan dad was sentenced this week to up to 15 years in prison for suffocating his infant daughter while he was passed out drunk.
Jose Roldan Jr., 41, pleaded guilty on Jan. 3 to involuntary manslaughter and second-degree child abuse in connection with the 2023 death of his 6-month-old daughter, Faith.
Faith’s mother, Ladesha Ann Powe, 30, is also charged with involuntary manslaughter and second-degree child abuse. She is set to go to trial on Feb. 11.
According to court documents obtained by WOODTV, police arrived at around 8 a.m. on Dec. 13, 2023, at the couple’s home in Kalamazoo and found Faith unresponsive. She was taken to the hospital where she died.
Roldan and Powe told authorities that they had been drinking heavily and had smoked marijuana before falling asleep, per the documents, according to WOODTV.
Roldan admitted he had nine or ten tall boy cans of beer. Powe told police she had five tall boys of Twisted Tea and some of Roldan’s beer, according to the documents, per MLive.com.
In an interview with police, Powe said she fell asleep with Faith on the couch and didn’t remember much of the night as she was “A lot far gone, wasted maybe, like very, very wasted,” per the documents, according to MLive.com.
Authorities said Faith fell from her arms and became wedged between Roldan, who weighs 300 pounds, and a couch cushion, MLive reported.
Video from an in-home security camera allegedly showed Roldan shifting on the couch and the baby kicking her feet and crying before she smothered to death, per the documents, WOODTV reported.
“I’ve seen [the video] and it’s not something that anyone should have to watch. It’s horrific,” Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting said, per WOODTV.
A medical examiner ruled that Faith died from mechanical asphyxia, WWMT reported.
