COLUMBUS, Ga. — The parents of a 6-week-old infant are now facing murder charges in connection to his death.
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Ariel Simmons and Ryan McMilleon, of Columbus, are both charged with murder in the second degree and cruelty to children in the second degree.
Police said on March 2, just before 1 p.m., officers responded to a home after an infant was not breathing. The child was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
During the initial investigation, officials said, the child’s parents were arrested on unrelated charges. McMilleon was charged with possession of methamphetamine and an outstanding warrant for contempt of court. Simmons was arrested on a warrant for truancy.
However, after a thorough investigation, detectives found evidence to support more criminal charges. On March 17, warrants were issued for Simmons and McMilleon, and they were arrested the following day.
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ABC-affiliate WTVM spoke with Inv. Bethany Thompson that said once the baby was taken to the hospital, it was too late to save him.
“The doctors advised nurses to stop CPR as the baby was already set in rigor mortis,” Thompson told WTVM.
According to WTVM, Thompson said the 6-week-old baby was taken to the hospital wrapped in a sweatshirt along with a pill bottle with Simmons’s name on it. According to investigators, meth was inside the bottle, and the baby had serious bruises.
“I observed the child, and there was lividity from possible pressure located on the face, left ear, and the stomach and chest of the baby,” Thompson told WTVM. This means that the baby already had a bluish-purple discoloration of the skin that occurs after death.
WTVM states the baby was discovered in the bed after sleeping with his parents.
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“Ryan stated that Ariel was still asleep when he had woken up, and he had asked where the baby was, looked over and it was over the baby’s head. Ryan stated when the blanket was pulled off the baby, the baby was lying flat on a Boppy, a pillow used for nursing, and it was around the baby’s head,” said Thompson.
Family members told WTVM the two would never harm their child on purpose.
“He would never intentionally hurt his child. He loved his kids very much,” the mother McMillieon said. Defense Attorney Keyanna Marshall said her client, Simmons, is a good mother who made a mistake.
“I think that it came out in court today that the bruises that the baby did get are consistent with co-sleeping. It was truly an accident,” said Marshall.
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