RESERVE, La. — Deputies found a four-month-old girl unresponsive in the home of a couple in St. John Parish, on Tuesday morning.
The couple, who lived on the 100 block of Northwest 18th Street in Reserve, were arrested on murder counts after police responded to an emergency call.
Chevy Lafountain, 31, and Angel Taylor, 24, were also charged with child desertion and cruelty to juveniles with force/violence.
Investigators found the couple's 13-month-old boy alive but with signs of neglect and abuse.
On Wednesday, SJSO's preliminary findings of the autopsy concluded the four-month-old suffered starvation, malnutrition, dehydration, severe neglect and child abuse, which led to her death.
Sheriff Mike Tregre said he is struggling with this case.
"That child was malnourished beyond what I have seen in my 34 years," the sheriff said. "For a harmless, defenseless human being to just be left like that, to starve to death."
The Sheriff said Taylor called 911, saying her four-month-old daughter was having a medical condition.
According to the Sheriff when deputies arrived, it was clear to them that the infant had been dead for a period of time as rigor mortis had already set in.
"From what I saw that child had not eaten anything in a long time," Sheriff Tregre said.
Sheriff Tregre said the family was living in deplorable conditions.
"Neither the biological mother or father took responsibility for their actions, they blamed it on everybody else. They blamed it on their drug use, they blamed it on the people that gave them drugs absolutely no remorse at all," Tregre said.
In a media release to WWL, SJSO Detectives stated the couple "appeared unremorseful" in their daughter's death and the current living conditions of the home and inconsistencies in the couple's statements led to their arrest.
In addition to the initial charges, both were booked for second-degree murder. Upon the arrest for the initial charges and the second degree murder charge.
Bond was set at $600,000 with no 10 percent for either parent.
The 13-month-old is now in state custody.
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