Alyssa Parkins (Box Butte Sheriff’s Office).
A Nebraska woman is accused of placing a blanket over her 9-month-old child’s head and holding it there while the infant was “crying bloody murder,” allegedly causing the baby’s death nearly four years after her former partner killed their 10-month-old daughter, authorities said.
Alyssa Parkins, 27, of Alliance, has been charged with intentional child abuse resulting in death, strangulation resulting in death and additional offenses tied to the death of her 9-month-old child.
The case marks the second child death investigation involving Parkins in under five years. Her former partner, Riley Lenhart, killed their 10-month-old on June 19, 2022, by asphyxiation or suffocation, according to local NBC affiliate KNOP.
Lenhart was later convicted and received a sentence of 60 years to life in prison.
“On June 22, 2026, the Box Butte County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to Box Butte General Hospital regarding the death of a 9-month-old infant,” the BBCSO said in a press release. “During the course of the initial investigation, numerous concerns were identified. Those concerns led Deputies to conduct an extensive and ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding the child’s death.”
According to court records obtained by KNOP, investigators allege Parkins used a blanket to kill the infant while the child was crying uncontrollably. Another child, described as Parkins’ son, reportedly told police that Parkins frequently punished her children by spanking them.
Parkins allegedly told hospital staff the baby had choked on a cracker but that she managed to remove most of it. She later said she found the girl unresponsive and took her to the hospital herself without calling 911, KNOP reported.
Police say the child’s feet were “almost black with dirt” and her scalp had “scaly, dead skin” all over it. A search warrant executed at Parkins’ home revealed no running water, little food, and a bathroom filled with dogs and feces, according to KNOP.
“As a result of this investigation, Alyssa Parkins has been arrested and charged with intentional child abuse resulting in death, a Class IB felony, strangulation resulting in death, a Class IIA felony, and 2 separate counts of intentional child abuse not resulting in injury or death, Class IIIA felonies,” the BBCSO release says. “Under Nebraska law, a Class IB Felony carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment upon conviction.”
Lenhart has tried to appeal his conviction for killing Parkins’ other infant, but he was denied by the Nebraska Supreme Court. He was also charged with intentional child abuse resulting in death.
“On June 19, 2022, Lenhart’s 10-month-old daughter, M.L., died while in his care,” the Nebraska Supreme Court said in an October 2024 ruling. “Based on bruising and other injuries to the front and sides of M.L.’s neck, a forensic pathologist found that her death was caused by ligature strangulation.”
The state’s highest court said Parkins was “at work” at the time of the child’s death. It denied his appeal in October 2024.
