Parents sent to prison for child's death after rolling on baby
(WJBK) - Two parents were sentenced today for causing the death of their baby.
Lorenzo Brooks and Leticia Molton will spend the next two to 15 years behind bars for the death of their 11-month old son. The boy was found unresponsive while sleeping last September. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police say the couple rolled over on the child -- suffocating him. This is the couple's second child to die in the same way.
Prosecutors say this is a tragic case is a reminder that parents must follow sleep guidelines.
"You put a baby back to sleep on their back with nothing in the crib," said the prosecutor. "And the idea is that the baby wakes up in the morning that way. This case illustrates how important that is."
Brooks and Molton pleaded guilty of manslaughter and will be given 145 days credit for their time already served.
At the time Brooks, 30 and Molton, 38, were charged, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy released a statement about unsafe sleep practices.
"There are babies in this county dying that should not be dying,” said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. “Unsafe sleep practices can be just as fatal to a baby as a gun or knife. The alleged actions of both parents in this case are criminal - they knew their alleged actions could result in the death of their child."