Authorities reported that a newborn infant in a Rochester attic was mauled to death by two dogs as his young parents were smoking marijuana downstairs.
On Thursday, Sulamain Hawkins and Anastasia Weaver, both 19 years old, entered a not-guilty plea to charges of manslaughter. They were accused of abandoning their 3-month-old child while smoking marijuana outside.
The couple, according to Rochester police, left young Sulamain Hawkins Jr. to sleep on the attic floor before heading outside to get some fresh air on August 3. This is when the horrible catastrophe occurred.
It is said that the two of them left the baby alone for up to an hour, during which time one or both of their pit bull-type dogs attacked it.
When they got back, they saw the injured infant. Following an emergency room visit, Junior passed away from “severe trauma to his body,” according to officials.
“The allegations here, we feel, support the recklessness that a reasonable person in these defendants’ situations would not have acted the way they did,” Assistant DA Sara VanStrydonck said in court.
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“They knew a risk and they consciously disregarded that risk.”
It took until Wednesday for Hawkins and Weaver to be taken into custody, and during her final week of liberty, the mother shared a troubling blend of grief and promiscuous social media posts.
The nightmare, according to the prosecution, happened in a friend’s rental home, and it was known that the dogs were housed in the attic. The young family had been staying there as well.
Since then, the dogs have been put to death and the tenants have been kicked out.
Weaver and Hawkins were placed under remand with a $15,000 bond.
Their next court date is August 27.