Parents Arrested After 10-Year-Old Girl With Autism ‘Crushed’ in Safety Bed
Share this @internewscast.com

A Minnesota couple has been charged with manslaughter after their 10-year-old daughter, who has autism, died while she was “zipped up” in a broken safety bed for 10 to 12 hours without supervision.

Heather Lynn Cross, 49, and Darcy Ronald Cross, 57, were also charged with contributing to the need for child protective services after the girl’s death on August 28, KSTP reported.

According to court documents, medics were called to the home that afternoon but found the girl already in rigor mortis, meaning she had died hours before 911 was called. She had been crushed by the safety bed, which was broken.

First responders also found that the girl was living in filthy conditions with urine and feces on her mattress, pad, and other parts of the room.

Both the 10-year-old and an older daughter, who also has autism, slept in the safety beds, which consist of mesh netting around a frame and a cage. The netting can only be opened from the outside.

Heather Cross told investigators she had checked on the 10-year-old between 4 and 6 a.m. on the day she died to give her medication, but court documents say that both children were apparently left alone and unsupervised for 10 to 12 hours after that.

The doctor who prescribed the safety beds said it was a “complete misuse of the equipment” for the children to be confined inside during the day when they were awake.

The manufacturer of the beds said they had received no requests for repairs on the beds, adding that the mattresses in use were not the ones that came with the beds.

During social services visits in September about the surviving daughter, the court documents say, a worker told Heather Cross the girl should not be zipped into the bed during the day, and Heather Cross responded that she would zip her in whenever she wanted to.

The Crosses were arrested on September 17, and the other daughter was taken into protective custody.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Police Report: Man Allegedly Ambushes Mother in Bathroom Following Dispute Over Speaker Use

Background: The West Des Moines, Iowa, neighborhood where Nathan Norrell allegedly stabbed…

Repeat Offender Receives Reduced Sentence in Beloved Postmaster’s Death Case

A man who was twice found guilty of manslaughter over his drunken…

Shocking Home Invasion: Fake Postal Worker in Disguise Launches Violent Attack on Couple

Ian A. Blair following his arrest in Seattle (King County Prosecutor’s Office).…

Shocking Crime Uncovered: Minnesota Man Indicted for Cold-Blooded Murder of Woman in Her Camper

A Minnesota resident has been detained following the discovery of a woman’s…

WA Bush Track Discovery Sparks Intense Murder Investigation

A homicide investigation has been launched after a man’s body was found…

Jury Delivers Verdict in Colin Gray Murder Trial: Father of Apalachee High School Shooter Found Guilty

Colin Gray, a father from Georgia, has been convicted of murder and…

Tragic Hit-and-Run: 22-Year-Old Killed by Semitruck While Changing Tire as Girlfriend Watches in Horror

Inset: Alejandro Covarrubias (GoFundMe). Background: Interstate 5, south of the Templin Highway…

Amnesia or Guilt? Man Claims Memory Loss After Woman Found Dead in Camper, Police Investigate

Background: The campground at Mac”s Park Place in Mazeppa, Minn. (Google Maps).…

Sheriff Reveals Shocking Case of Starved Boys Under Strict Parental Discipline

Inset, left to right: Dulce Crystal Bazan Castillo and Auturo Bazan-Perez (Oakland…

Mother Arrested as Unsupervised Toddler Found Intoxicated

By Staff Reporter GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A Gainesville woman, Voynara Ashely Barcelo,…

Shocking Incident: Pastor Allegedly Pushes Elderly Woman Down Church Steps, Resulting in Severe Injuries

Inset: Pastor Lorenz Roseman. Background: Surveillance video allegedly showing California church elder…

Gainesville Man Faces Charges After Alleged Door-Kicking Incident and Assault on Woman

Staff Report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Authorities took Kelvin Lee Pritchett, 40, into…