Couple charged with negligent homicide in death of baby

Charges have been filed against a Logan man and Smithfield woman in the death of their young baby, who was found dead inside a Smithfield home earlier this year.

Court records show, 24-year-old Michael A. Archer and 22-year-old Jessica Brunetti were both charged with negligent homicide, drug possession and other misdemeanor counts. They are both scheduled to be arraigned in 1st District Court July 18.

Smithfield City Police Officer Brandon Muir said they received a 911 call that the 11-week-old baby was unresponsive, early on the morning of February 22. CPR and other life-saving measures were unsuccessful.

The baby was found on the floor, in a bedroom of the home, located near 160 E. 400 N. 

Archer and Brunetti told officers that they had been drinking earlier in the night when they went to sleep with the baby on a twin size bed. Investigators later found evidence of other controlled substances in the home and both tested positive for drugs.

State medical examiners later determined the baby had died from asphyxiation.

Court records show both Archer and Brunetti have previous convictions for drug and alcohol use.

“They were both under probation restrictions,” said Muir. “A lot of things that shouldn’t have happened did. It is a sad situation all the way around.”

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