Parents Charged With Manslaughter And Child Abuse Following Infant’s Death

Ladesha Powe and Jose Roldan Jr. were arraigned on April 3 by Judge Richard Santoni in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The two stand accused of involuntary manslaughter and child abuse concerning the death of their six-month-old daughter, Faith Hope Roldan. 

As M-Live reports, the two are represented by Aiyana Godsil from Kalamazoo Defender. The pair, as News Channel 3 reports, allegedly fell asleep while intoxicated, and their daughter suffocated between the cushions of their couch.

According to court documents obtained by the outlet, Rodan, 40, and Powe, 29, admitted to drinking alcoholic beverages and sharing a joint on the night their daughter died. 

Rodan told investigators that he had nine or 10 “tall boys” of Twisted Tea, which is a 25-ounce can of tea mixed with alcohol and fell asleep on their couch the night of Dec. 13, 2023. Meanwhile, Powe told detectives that she was “a lot far gone, wasted maybe, like very, very wasted” before falling asleep on the couch with the baby in her arms after drinking some of Rodan’s beverages.

At some point during the night, according to the court documents, the baby fell out of her arms and in between the couch cushions. Rodan adjusted his position on the couch, which resulted in the baby becoming smothered. She kicked her feet and cried before she became completely still and lifeless. 

“At some point, Jose lays down on the couch to fall asleep, and Ladesha sits down by his feet with Faith in her arms,” the documents state. “Ladesha appears to fall asleep, and Faith falls out of her arms and lands behind Jose and wedges in between Jose and the back of the couch.”

The affidavit continued, “Jose eventually readjusts himself and the baby becomes completely smothered, kicking (her) feet, crying, until Faith becomes lifeless.”

In the footage recorded in their home’s living room, Powe appeared to wake up, search for the baby, and then went to her bedroom for the night.

According to the documents, once Jose realized Faith was not breathing, he woke Powe up.

“Jose said that when he woke up, he found Faith wedged between the seat and back cushions; when he tried to wake her up, he discovered that she was not breathing. Jose then woke up Faith’s mother, Ladesha Powe, and she called 911.”

EMS arrived on the scene, attempted to save the infant’s life, and took her to Bronson Methodist Hospital, where she died the next morning at 9:07 am.

The medical examiner from Western Michigan University determined that the cause of death of Faith Rodan was mechanical asphyxia and that she died of homicide. 

Judge Santoni took particular offense to Jose’s actions, at one point telling him that the actions he was accused of were “grossly negligent.” The pair, who have three other children, will not be allowed to visit them without supervision from child protective services as a condition of their bail, per Judge Santoni.

Their cash bond was set at $100,000. Powe is scheduled to return to court on April 24 for a preliminary hearing with Kalamazoo County District Judge Kathleen Hemingway. Rodan is scheduled for an April 30 preliminary hearing with Kalamazoo County District Judge Becket Jones. 

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