The North Carolina parents of a 2-month-old Buncombe County girl who was found unresponsive in her bassinet on June 28, 2022, and later pronounced dead, have now been charged with first-degree murder in her death, officials said Wednesday afternoon.
35-year-old Nickolas Shane Stephenson and 28-year-old Diandra Haleigh Fuhr-Farlow have now been charged with first-degree murder in the death of 2-month-old Riley Leshae Hannah Stephenson.
First-degree murder is the intentional killing of another person.
Parents now charged with first-degree murder in 2-month-old Buncombe County girl’s death
“Based on the totality of the facts from our investigation, to include the findings from the preliminary autopsy and after consultation with the District Attorney, we have upgraded the charges against the parents of Riley,” said Major John Ledford, of the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office.
Originally, Stephenson was charged with second-degree murder and negligent child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury, and Fuhr-Farlow was charged with felonious child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury.
“These are always a tragedy, especially when children are involved. We just do the best that we can to make sure there’s justice at the end for those children,” Capt. Angie Tullis, of Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations, said.
Both Stephenson and Fuhr-Farlow are now being held on no bond at the Buncombe County Detention Facility.
Authorities say on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, deputies with the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office responded to the couple’s home on Four Wheel Drive in the western part of Buncombe County after Fuhr-Farlow called 911 and said she found her infant unconscious and not breathing in her bassinet.
The case now goes to the district attorney’s office.
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