Charges: 'Drunk' Dad Rolls Over, Suffocates Infant Son
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – An Eagan, Minn. man was charged Tuesday after police say he rolled on top of his infant son while drunk, suffocating the boy, according to Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom.
Nathan Scott Savage, 30, was charged with three counts of second-degree manslaughter, all felonies, plus neglect and endangerment of a child, both gross misdemeanors.
According to the criminal complaint, the infant, Nolan Scott Sikich, was found dead shortly before 6 a.m. on Oct. 19, 2013. He was less than two months old at the time of his death.
Eagan Police were called to the residence where Savage lived with the child's mother.
Upon arrival, they heard the child's mother yelling at Savage in regards to the child, who firefighters found unresponsive and tried to resuscitate.
An officer spoke with Savage and believed he was intoxicated after smelling a strong odor of alcohol on him. Savage later admitted to police that he had been drinking the evening before.
Savage told police that sometime between 10 p.m. and midnight on Oct. 18, he laid Sikich down on his bed that he shares with the boy's mother, because he was fussing. Savage said that eventually they both fell asleep.
At approximately 5:55 a.m., Savage said he woke to the child's mother shaking him, asking where the child was, according to the complaint.
Savage said that was when he realized he had been laying on top of Sikich.
Savage admitted to police this was not the first time that the boy had slept in their bed.
An autopsy ruled the cause of death as "asphyxia due to probably overlay." The manner of death was listed as "accidental," according to the criminal complaint.
Savage, who appeared in court Tuesday, is set to appear again on May 27.