ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — A man and woman were charged with manslaughter in western New York on Thursday after they left their 3-month-old baby alone in an attic with two dogs and the child was fatally mauled, authorities said.
Sulamain Hawkins and Anastasia Weaver, both 19, were at a home in Rochester on Aug. 3 when they left their baby asleep in the attic with the dogs and went downstairs to smoke cannabis, Rochester police said in a news release.
When they returned to the attic they found that the baby, Sulamain Hawkins Jr., had been attacked by one or both dogs, police said. The child was taken to a hospital, where he died.
After an investigation by police, child protective services and the Monroe County district attorney's office, Hawkins and Weaver were arrested Wednesday. They were arraigned Thursday on manslaughter charges and are due back in court Aug. 27.
Messages seeking comment were sent to attorneys for Hawkins and Weaver.
The dogs were euthanized, police said.