According to newly filed court documents that detail the circumstances of the boy’s death and the discovery of his body, the Arkansas boy whose body was discovered buried under the floorboards of his home last week died three months ago after his mother’s boyfriend shoved his head in a toilet bowl as “punishment” for biting the man’s finger.
According to an arrest affidavit filed by the state in Lee County Circuit Court on Tuesday, the boy’s mother, Ashley Rolland, 28, told police that her son, Blu, died Sept. 9 as a result of an incident involving her boyfriend, Nathan Bridges, 33.
The boy’s age was not immediately clear: Arkansas State Police said he was six years old, but court documents show he was born on December 16, 2017 — implying his body was discovered on his fifth birthday. Karen Rolland, Blu’s paternal grandmother, said the boy would have turned six last week.
Ashley Rolland told police that Bridges also caused her surviving 6-year-old daughter’s injuries — later identified as severe burns by medical personnel — by holding her under hot water “as punishment for her behavior issues,” according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, Bridges refused to be interviewed.
Rolland and Bridges were arrested on Saturday, the day after they discovered the boy’s body buried under the hallway of his home in Moro, about 85 miles east of Little Rock, around 10:45 p.m., according to police.
Rolland and Bridges have been charged with capital murder, tampering with physical evidence, endangering the welfare of a minor, and battery. Rolland is also charged with two additional felonies for allowing child abuse.
The St. Francis County Detention Center is where Rolland is being held. Her mug shot shows that she has a black eye. A representative from the jail could not be reached for comment right away.
According to the affidavit, Bridges is being held at the Lee County Sheriff’s Department. According to the document filed on Monday, he has been ordered not to contact Rolland’s surviving child.
According to court records, Rolland and Bridges first appeared in court on Monday for a probable cause hearing. Both are being held without bond and are scheduled to appear in court on January 17; they have been assigned, public defenders.
The Arkansas Public Defender Commission could not be reached for comment right away.
Todd Murray, the prosecuting attorney for the First Judicial Circuit, could not be reached immediately to answer a question about how much prison time each could face if convicted of the charges they face.
