An Arkansas man admitted this week that he killed his girlfriend’s small baby and hid his body beneath the floorboards of their home in 2022.
In connection with the demise of 5-year-old Blu Rolland, Nathan Bridges, 34, entered a plea of guilty to first-degree murder and first-degree violence on Monday, July 15, as reported by the Arkansas State Police. A subsequent sentencing of sixty years in prison was imposed upon Bridges.
Police say Blu’s body was discovered under the floorboards of a home in Moro, Arkansas, some 85 miles east of Little Rock, on December 16, 2022. According to the authorities, the boy would have turned six years old on that day as well.
According to PEOPLE, an arrest affidavit said that the boy drowned in a toilet in the residence, contradicting what Arkansas State Police had previously asserted about the boy’s death being caused by injuries sustained in the home around three months earlier.
Ashley Rolland, the boy’s mother, allegedly first informed deputies that Blu was not home during their civil standby, as stated in the document, which PEOPLE has already received. As the affidavit asserts, however, she supposedly came clean to her father about the boy’s death and the location of his body beneath the freshly-nailed floorboards. She supposedly informed her dad that the boy had passed away after collapsing, as stated in the affidavit.
16-year-old Pregnant Teen Found Dead Near Her House in Georgia; Boyfriend Arrested for Homicide
According to the affidavit, deputies returned to the residence in the hopes of discovering the youngster alive. Upon further investigation, they discovered a blanket and a child’s flip-flops buried beneath the floorboards. Additionally, they detected the odor of decay after removing the top layer of dirt.
Rolland allegedly told investigators that Blu bit Bridges’ finger in September, which led to his death. According to the affidavit, Bridges punished the child by repeatedly plunging his head into the toilet, causing him to drown.
Subsequently, charges were brought against Rolland and Bridges in relation to Blu’s demise.
According to the authorities in Lee County, Rolland, 30, is still waiting for his trial, while Bridges has already pleaded guilty. Death penalty murder, condoning child abuse, corpse abuse, tampering with physical evidence, violence, endangering the welfare of a minor, and other counts are all against her.
PEOPLE was unable to immediately locate an attorney who could comment on her behalf, and it is unknown whether she has made a plea.
A GoFundMe page was set up to assist Blu’s grandma with burial and other costs following the boy’s passing.