Drug addict American parents of Louisiana arrested for starving their 4-month-old daughter to death

Angel Taylor and Chevy LaFountain also neglected their one-year-old son

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A Louisiana couple has been arrested for letting their four-month-old daughter starve to death in an unsanitary trailer. Angel Taylor and Chevy LaFountain also neglected their one-year-old son to such an extent that a local official marveled at how the toddler managed to survive.

According to the sheriff’s office, the trailer where the couple lived was a grim sight, with signs of neglect, children’s toys scattered in front of the house, and trash and debris mixed in.

Taylor, 24, and LaFountain, 31, were arrested Aug. 1 on charges of second-degree murder, neglect and child abuse. According to the St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office, Taylor called police when her daughter was unresponsive. After the couple came home, the deputies found the girl to be disoriented.

The mother said her daughter was put to sleep for the last hour, but after closer inspection by authorities, she did not buy the accounts. “How long that baby has been dead, I cannot tell you. The child is severely malnourished, who knows the last time the child had a meal,” Sheriff Mike Tregre said at a press conference this week, FOX8Live reported.

Taylor and LaFountain have been charged with second-degree murder, but they each face a felony count of child abuse and child abandonment. The autopsy report revealed that the baby was suffering from malnutrition, dehydration and starvation.

Taylor and LaFountain’s 13-month-old son also lived in the home. Like his now-dead sister, the boy was severely malnourished, the sheriff said. “Somehow, the boy found a way to eat and survive,” he said.

“I’ve seen wild animals take good care of their young,” Tregre remarked after booking the pair. Tregre said the children shared an unfortunate fate due to a deadly combination of “drug abuse, abusive parenting and neglect to the highest degree.” He added that none of the parents expressed remorse and admitted to drug abuse. “Both admitted to child abuse [Chevy Lafountain] He blamed everyone but himself,” Tregre said.

The father blamed the dealers for selling him drugs, the sheriff said, adding that the mother’s negligence was the cause of her unconsciousness for hours. The couple’s son is now in the custody of Child Protective Services. “You know, you have people in this world who would love to have a baby who can’t have a baby. A stranger took this child. To see a child deteriorate like this? It’s hard,” Tregre said.