A Wyoming couple has been arrested and charged with manslaughter after their infant daughter was found in inhumane conditions inside a filthy trash-filled house.
Bailey Bettinson, 22, and Tevin Medina, 30, were charged on Monday by Unita County Attorney Loretta Howieson-Kallas.
Each parent was charged with manslaughter and one count of felony child abuse following the death of their daughter in October 2023, Cowboy State Daily reported.
Little Renezmae Medina was found unresponsive at her home at the Rocky Point Apartments on Feather Way in the early morning hours of October 20.
The nine-month old had such horrid diaper rash that it eroded her flesh – which was discovered by the medical staff who were performing an abuse and neglect screening at Evanston Regional, Unita County Herald reported.
If convicted, the couple could face up to 20 years in prison for the manslaughter charge, and an additional 10 years for child abuse.
The baby’s mother, Bailey Bettinson, 22, has been charged with manlaughter and one count of felony child abuse in the October 2023 death of their baby daughter, identified as R.M.
The baby’s father Tevin Medina, 30, and his wife, are facing up to 30 years in prison
Baby Renezmae Medina had large abrasions around her vaginal area, the right buttock and right leg, investigators alleged, and unexplained bruising in the ‘peri area,’ as per court documents
The medical personnel discovered ‘unexplained bruising in the ‘peri area,» as per court documents. The peri area includes tissue that makes up the bottom of the pelvic cavity.
The child also had large abrasions around her vaginal area, the right buttock and right leg, investigators alleged.
Medical staff also told investigators that the abrasions were from diaper rash that was extensive that ‘the rash appeared to be entering into the flesh as well as the skin,’ court documents stated.
An autopsy conducted by Randall Frost, the State Medical Examiner, was unable to determine the child’s cause of death, but he noted that he ‘could not rule out an asphyxia death,’ and was investigating further, as per the news outlet.
On October 20 around 4.27am, Detective Scott Faddis from the Evanston Police Department responded to a report of a baby that was unresponsive at a home at 215 Feather Way, the Rocky Point Apartments.
The baby’s mother was performing CPR on her daughter when Faddis arrived.
When he touched the baby’s skin, she was cold to the touch, and entering into rigor mortis, as per an affidavit.
The baby’s father told police in a later report that he took his other step child, a three-year-old girl, outside of the home so they would not have to witness their unresponsive sibling, the Cowboy State Daily reported.
Investigators reported in an affidavit that the couple’s home was covered in filth, pet urine and feces on the floors and the walls. There was rotting food and a soiled diaper with exposed feces atop a pile of trash.
The stench of the apartment was so bad that detectives had to take breaks during their investigation. A neighbor reportedly told police that they could smell the odor coming from the apartment.
The Rocky Mountain apartments where the baby Renezmae Medina was found unresponsive on October 20, 2023
The state also alleged the victim and Medina’s stepdaughter were exposed other hazards in the home including, a pointed steak knife on the children’s bedroom floor next to dried vomit, an unsheathed hunting knife exposed on top of a clothes dryer and Medina’s tattoo gun and needles within reach of the young children.
Medina’s stepdaughter was later taken into protective custody by the Wyoming Department of Family Services due to the ‘filthy unsafe living conditions of the defendant’s residence,’ the affidavit stated.
It was revealed that an officer with the Evanston PD went to the couple’s home a month before the baby’s death after management called police because they were concerned about the poor living conditions for the children, as per an affidavit.
‘The residence was littered with animal feces, rotten odors, mold, clothes and many other dirty items,’ court documents stated.
Management also provided police with photos, which were also sent to the Department of Family Services along with the incident report.
The affidavit revealed that the DFS has been at the home on two other occasions- September 6, 2022 and September 21, 2022 – for poor living conditions.
