A Nebraska mother is facing serious criminal charges after investigators say she smothered her infant daughter with a blanket — and it was her own young son who exposed the truth.
Alyssa Parkins has been charged with four counts, including intentional child abuse resulting in death and strangulation resulting in death, following the June 22 death of her 9-month-old baby girl.
What Authorities Found
Deputies were first called to Box Butte General Hospital after Parkins and the baby’s father brought the unresponsive infant in, claiming she had choked on a cracker. Parkins said she cleared most of it but later found the baby unresponsive.
What raised immediate red flags: Parkins never called 911. Hospital staff attempted life-saving measures, but the infant was pronounced dead.
Medical staff noted the baby’s hands and feet were described as “almost black with dirt,” and her scalp was covered in what was described as scaly, dead skin — signs of severe neglect.
A Child’s Account Changed Everything
Investigators later spoke with Parkins’s young son. According to prosecutors, the boy told police that Parkins held a blanket over the infant’s head while the baby was “crying bloody murder.” He also told authorities the baby was already dead before they ever left for the hospital.
The boy further alleged that Parkins physically spanked both children.
Inside the Home
A search warrant executed at Parkins’s residence — a fifth-wheel camper — revealed no running water, almost no food, and a bathroom occupied by dogs and their waste.
A Devastating Pattern
This is not the first tragedy connected to Parkins. In 2022, her then-partner Riley Lenhart was convicted of killing another 9-month-old child in her care. Lenhart, now 30, was sentenced to 60 years to life for that crime.
Formal charges against Parkins were still pending as of Thursday. If convicted, she faces 20 years to life in prison. The case is being investigated jointly by the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, Alliance Police, and the Nebraska State Patrol.
