Brian Lemke and Allysen Armenta (Canyon County Sheriff’s Office).
In Idaho, a tragic incident involving the death of a 12-day-old baby has resulted in the arrest of the parents, who allegedly attempted to conceal the circumstances. Court documents reveal that authorities suspect the infant suffocated in a “filthy” trailer before being relocated to a house. The father reportedly told police that the mother accidentally rolled over the baby while sleeping, contradicting his initial claim of finding the child unresponsive in a bassinet.
According to court documents sourced by NBC affiliate KTVB, the Nampa police reported that Brian Lemke, aged 31, and Allysen Armenta, aged 28, exchanged texts following their child’s death instead of contacting authorities immediately. Both parents face charges, including felony injury to a child, concealing evidence, failing to report or delaying the notification of a death, and obstruction of justice.
While it remains unclear who is directly responsible for the infant’s demise, police suspect that the baby suffocated within the trailer. The space was reportedly cluttered with trash, leftover food, dirt, cigarettes, and animal waste.
In one of the text messages, Lemke allegedly wrote to Armenta, “What did I do? I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened, but it might be my fault. Are they saying SIDS?”
On December 16, around 3:32 a.m., Nampa police responded to a 911 call made by Lemke, as detailed in a press release on Facebook. Officers arrived at a residence on the 300 block of Lone Star Road, where Lemke claimed the infant had passed away. Armenta was not present at that location.
Upon investigation, detectives discovered the baby had died elsewhere and was subsequently moved to the house. Police found the mother hiding in a camp trailer situated in the backyard. She was arrested without incident due to an unrelated warrant from another county.
Cops investigated the child’s death and Armenta was arrested again with Lemke on Monday. Court records show that the couple has multiple prior convictions for injuring children in Idaho. They had other kids removed from their home in recent years and placed in foster care, some for hazardous living conditions, KTVB reports.
The couple is scheduled to both appear in court next month for their preliminary hearings.
