Two Bellingham parents arrested for manslaughter in infant son's death

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Two Bellingham parents have been arrested for manslaughter in connection with the death of their infant son.

The Whatcom County Medical Examiner said the boy, 3-month-old Lucian, weighed 9 pounds, 7 ounces at the time of his death in December – about a pound more than his 8-pound, 6-ounce birth weight. He had almost no body fat when he died.

Bellingham police said in a statement on Friday that “the circumstances leading to Lucian’s death began far before the day that he died.”

The boy’s mother, 22-year-old Brittany Daniels, called 911 on Dec. 8 to report that Lucian had died in his crib. She told police she was at work when the boy’s father, 23-year-old Cody Shields, messaged to tell her what happened and that Shields had been there at the time of death.

The medical examiner’s report cited "death in residence following prolonged period of parental inattention,” and Bellingham police said evidence indicates Lucian was fed little to nothing in the days before his death.

The cause of death was listed as "malnutrition and dehydration, neglect of ordinary care of infant.”

Shields and Daniels made their first court appearance Friday afternoon. The judge ordered them both held on $10,000 bond for investigation of second-degree manslaughter, and ruled there should be no contact between the two.