Dad put pillow over newborn's face 'for a few minutes max' to block sounds of music with 'bad words' and smell of pot: Police

A father has admitted to placing a pillow implicit his babe daughter's face, contending that it was "for a fewer minutes max," Missouri authorities say.

Miguel Simmons has been charged with endangering the payment of a child, Greene County tribunal records show. The lawsuit began connected Monday aft a witnesser walked into a country astatine Simmons' location successful Springfield and saw a pillow connected the furniture "wiggling."

The witnesser grabbed the "regular sized" sleeping pillow and recovered underneath it the babe girl, who was not rather 2 months old. The witnesser was acrophobic that the babe "would not person been capable to breathe."

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The pillow turned retired to beryllium "larger" than the baby, according to a probable origin connection reviewed by Law&Crime.

When officers arrived and spoke to this witness, Simmons interrupted, per the tribunal document. "She's fine, she's lying … she's alive," the fishy said amid different statements considered unintelligible by authorities. "I conscionable enactment the pillow implicit her caput conscionable for a fewer min…, for a fewer seconds … for a fewer minutes max."

"I conscionable changed her diaper, I conscionable fed her, I did enactment the pillow connected her look for a fewer min, for a fewer seconds due to the fact that I don't privation her to perceive to this music," Simmons added. The constituent astir the euphony became clearer arsenic the fishy elaborated.

"There was large music," helium said, adding that determination were "all these atrocious words." Simmons continued, saying helium himself was playing large euphony and "people were screaming successful the surviving room." It is unclear who each the different radical successful the location were, but Simmons lived with his "baby momma," the infant, and 2 different witnesses.

In the defendant's words, the babe was "breathing," not crying, and "fine," and helium conscionable wanted her to sleep. Still, helium made a startling admittance astir the pillow.

"I cognize that she tin dice from that but I didn't privation to enactment it for a agelong time," Simmons said, according to the tribunal statement. He was arrested and booked into the Greene County Jail.

The pursuing day, officers arrived astatine the installation to talk with him again.

Simmons, who was calved successful 2000, gave much details astir his authorities of caput connected the time of the incident. He said helium had conscionable gotten location from enactment erstwhile helium saw the witnesser — the aforesaid idiosyncratic who would aboriginal observe the babe nether the pillow — successful the surviving country playing large euphony and smoking marijuana with the babe besides present.

As a result, Simmons moved the babe into his bedroom, laid her connected the furniture and covered her successful a blanket. After helium changed his clothes, helium placed a pillow connected the child, adamantly stating that it lone went up to her chin, authorities recounted. He stated that his volition was not to wounded the girl.

He continued, saying the 2 of them laic connected the furniture "for a abbreviated time" until the archetypal witnesser came successful to springiness the antheral his dinner. When she entered, she "freaked retired and began yelling astatine him saying helium was trying to kill" the baby. He did not admit immoderate injuries connected the child, and authorities made nary notation of the kid being injured.

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Though Simmons maintained the baby's look was not blocked by the pillow, erstwhile an researcher asked him what the intent of it was, "he said it was to support her bully and lukewarm for erstwhile she slept truthful she could consciousness similar idiosyncratic was holding her, and to forestall her from smelling the fume of the marijuana and proceeding the noises of the music."

The serviceman penning the probable origin connection added: "I asked Simmons if however the pillow was positioned helped with blocking the odor and noise, and helium said yes." Furthermore, Simmons reportedly added that "he did not cognize it was a transgression to spot a pillow" connected the unfortunate and "because helium was a first-time father, helium did not cognize immoderate better."

Simmons is being held connected a $25,000 bond. It is unclear erstwhile helium is scheduled to look successful court.