COLUMBUS, Ga. — A Georgia couple has been charged with murder after their six-week-old baby died while sleeping in their bed earlier this month. Ryan McMillen, 27, and Ariel Simmons, 31, face charges of second-degree murder and cruelty to children following the March 2 death of their infant son.
The child was rushed to the hospital after he stopped breathing, but was pronounced dead upon arrival. During a court hearing on Friday, prosecutors revealed harrowing details of the incident. Simmons wept as investigators testified.
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“The doctors advised nurses to stop CPR as the baby was already set in rigor mortis,” Columbus police Investigator Bethany Thompson told the court, according to WTVM. She noted the infant appeared blue in the face and chest and had been co-sleeping with his parents.
McMillen told police he woke up to find a blanket covering the baby’s head, along with a nursing pillow near his face. “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,” Thompson said.
Authorities also reported that the child had severe bruises and was wrapped in a sweatshirt containing a pill bottle with methamphetamine inside. The bottle allegedly bore Simmons’ name.
The couple’s defense argued the death was accidental. “I think that it came out in court today that the bruises that the baby did get are consistent with co-sleeping,” said Simmons’ attorney, Keyanna Marshall.
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McMillen and Simmons were initially arrested on unrelated charges—McMillen for meth possession and a contempt warrant, and Simmons for truancy. Murder charges were added after a police investigation.
The case has reignited warnings about the dangers of co-sleeping with infants, a practice linked to accidental suffocation. The couple remains in custody as the investigation continues.
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