An Arkansas judge sentenced a mother to 40 years in prison following the death of her son.
Ashley Rolland30, pleaded guilty to two counts of permitting the abuse of a minor in Lee County Circuit Court, two years after her boyfriend killed her son by drowning him in a toilet, according to a copy of the plea agreement obtained by Inside Edition.
The officers discovered the body of Blu Rolland5 years old, buried under the floorboards of his home on December 16, 2022, the day he would have turned 6 years old.
Rolland had been facing charges of capital murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and first-degree assault, but prosecutors requested a mistrial in exchange for his guilty plea on the two counts of permitting abuse.
The first charge is related to the death of his son, while the second is for the injuries his 6-year-old daughter suffered at the hands of Nathan BridgesRolland’s boyfriend.
Bridges, 34, pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in court last month. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of first-degree assault for an incident involving the victim’s older sister, for which he was charged. The judge sentenced him to 60 years in prison.
The criminal complaint obtained by Inside Edition says authorities learned of Blu’s death after the boy’s grandmother contacted the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and requested a welfare visit for both children.
Rolland handed her 6-year-old daughter over to officers, but He said that Blu was not home at the time.according to the complaint.
Blu’s sister had severe scabbing wounds on her head that her mother said were caused by an allergic reaction, but doctors determined the girl had suffered severe burns.
He killed the child because he bit his finger
The children’s grandfather later called officers to say he learned his grandson might be buried beneath the floorboards inside the home.
“Officers located the location where Blu was reported to be and found freshly nailed boards. The agents removed the boards and found disturbed earth underneath.”They removed the top layer of soil and found a child’s flip-flops and a red and blue blanket,” the complaint details.
Those inside the house had to leave the residence due to the strong smell of decomposition.
Authorities said Rolland soon confessed to police that Blu had bitten Bridges’ finger when he put it in the boy’s mouth, so He took him to the bathroom and drowned him in the toilet.The woman said she did nothing to stop him and went into the bathroom afterwards to find Blu “struggling to breathe” and his body limp.
Bridges then buried the boy in the ground and covered him with some dirt and new floorboards, authorities said.
According to the complaint, the girl suffered severe burns when Bridges held her under scalding water in the bathtub.
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