Couple charged 1 count for each day newborn was alive until infant was suffocated on the couch when mom fell asleep breastfeeding: Cops

A parent and begetter successful West Virginia are accused of neglecting their babe to decease aft authorities said their 1-month-old child died successful a "deplorable" location surrounded by bugs, mold, rotten milk, and mountains of soiled diapers.

Caleb Shane Decapio, 21, and Hope Lynn Taylor, 20, look charges this week of 28 felony counts each of gross neglect of kid creating a important hazard of decease oregon superior bodily injury, tribunal records show.

Deputies with the Brooke County Sheriff's Office began investigating erstwhile they responded to a telephone regarding a babe not breathing astatine a location successful the country of Peacock Lane successful Follansbee, according to a report from Steubenville, Ohio, NBC affiliate WTOV. Emergency crews arrived astatine the code and instantly began performing CPR connected the newborn.

"After lifesaving measures were attempted, unfortunately, the babe wasn't capable to beryllium resuscitated," Brooke County Sheriff Richard Beatty said successful an interview with Wheeling, West Virginia, CBS affiliate WTRF.

EMS unit pronounced the babe dormant astatine the country astatine astir 5:30 a.m. aft moving for astir 30 minutes to revive the child, WVNews reported, citing the transgression ailment filed against the couple.

According to the complaint, Taylor told investigators she had been breastfeeding the kid and indispensable person fallen asleep. When she woke up, Taylor said the babe was positioned betwixt her and Decapio and unresponsive.

Roughly 2 and a fractional hours later, deputies executed a hunt warrant astatine the residence and reported uncovering what they described arsenic "deplorable" conditions.

Authorities discovered betwixt 80 and 100 soiled diapers successful the chamber wherever the kid slept and astir 20 babe bottles containing rotten beverage oregon formula. Investigators besides noted mold connected nutrient passim the location and said the aerial wrong was "difficult to breathe."

"It was terrible," Beatty said. "After 30-some-odd years successful this business, I could accidental that it was 1 of the astir deplorable conditions that I've ever seen oregon witnessed."

Officials besides reportedly observed injuries connected the infant, including a bruise adjacent the basal of the skull and a tiny magnitude of humor connected the child's cheek, according to the complaint.

"I would thin to deliberation there's immoderate superior neglect," Beatty said.

While investigators judge parental neglect astatine slightest contributed to the newborn's death, last charging decisions volition beryllium made by prosecutors.

The sheriff told WTRF that the archetypal probe near him and his investigators shaken.

"Any suspicious decease is simply a pugnacious call, but the suspicious decease of a 1-month-old kid successful information specified arsenic that — yeah, it'll permission a people successful our brains for a small while," Beatty added.

Authorities said each of the 28 charges corresponds to a time the kid allegedly lived successful those "deplorable" conditions. If convicted connected each counts, Decapio and Taylor could look decades successful prison.

Both defendants are presently being held astatine the Northern Regional Jail connected $100,000 bond, records show. They are scheduled to look for their preliminary hearings connected April 6.