Lincoln Police investigating death of five-month-old infant

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The Lincoln Police Department is investigating the death of a five-month-old boy.

According to juvenile court filings, LPD and Lincoln Fire & Rescue responded to a call for an unresponsive child at Sunset Inn and Suites at Northwest 12th and West Adams Street. In an affidavit, Lincoln Police Capt. Jake Dilsaver said the child was transported to Bryan West and later died. Police said criminal wrongdoing isn’t apparent, but their investigation is underway. Police didn’t provide any updates to the case Monday.

According to Dilsaver, the child’s mother, age 20, said the family of five, including the child’s father and the couple’s two other children, shared a bed at the hotel and fell asleep between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. Tuesday.

The mother said one of the older children woke her up around 5 p.m., and she realized the five-month-old wasn’t breathing. Dilsaver said the woman told him she rendered medial aid and enlisted others in the hotel to help with CPR, while waiting for paramedics.

In court documents, Dilsaver described the hotel room the family was staying in to be “incredibly cluttered.” The affidavit said there was stale and rotten food throughout the room and while there were two beds, only one was usable. The second was “entirely uninhabitable.”

In the affidavit for an emergency custody order for the two other children, Dilsaver said “the filth was to a degree that would hinder a child from being healthy and thriving.” Court documents state a large knife was found on the floor, along with other dangerous debris and items.

The couple’s two other children have been placed in temporary custody.