A West Plains man has pleaded guilty to charges involving the death of an infant child.
According to court records, 28-year-old Levi Coffel accepted a plea agreement to involuntary manslaughter in the second degree for the death of a six-month-old infant in August 2023. Law enforcement responded to a report of a medical emergency at a home along Burke Avenue in West Plains in August of 2023. Upon arrival, they found an infant not breathing, but medical personnel were unable to revive them.
Investigators state they could smell intoxicants when they arrived on the scene. At the time of the incident, Coffel was the sole person in the care, custody, and control of four small children. He admitted to placing the infant into a bathtub seat with the water running. Investigators say Coffel left the infant unattended while he departed the bathroom to retrieve a diaper bag but then became distracted. Coffel told authorities he always left the drain open on the bathtub but later admitted the drain was plugged. Investigators say Coffel attempted to resuscitate the infant while calling 911.
Coffel faced a charge of abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 23.
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