Parents arrested after baby dies covered in dirt, feces, police say
LEESBURG, Fla. – Police arrested two parents last week after determining that their infant child died while covered in what appeared to be dirt and feces, according to WFTV and jail records.
Officers arrested Mark Brittian, 26, and Margaret Lehman, 23, on negligent-death manslaughter charges, WFTV reported.
Their arrests came after Leesburg police responded around 3 a.m. Sept. 2 to a report of an unresponsive 11-month-old girl in the 400 block of Pine Street, according to the news station. Emergency crews took the girl, who was not breathing, to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
In an arrest affidavit obtained by WFTV, authorities said the infant was “covered in dirt and what appeared to be dried feces.”
“The palm of the infant’s hands and the bottom of her feet were so covered in dirt and grime that areas appeared dark brown and her skin color was not visible,” officials added.
Police noted what appeared to be severe bruising on the girl’s lower back and buttocks, WFTV reported, along with open sores between her upper thighs and her vagina. She weighed about 13 pounds and was “extremely underweight and underdeveloped,” according to the arrest affidavit.
Police described the family’s home as “deplorable,” saying that it contained the overwhelming odor of garbage and rotten food, WFTV reported. Officials also said the house was “extremely cluttered, almost as if hoarders resided there.”
In the arrest affidavit, authorities said they also found cocaine in Brittian’s system, WFTV reported.
Jail records show authorities booked Brittian and Lehman into the Lake County Detention Center on Friday. Both suspects were released on $50,000 bonds on Saturday. They are set to appear in court for an arraignment on Sept. 27.
