Sentenced: Father Charged For The 2009 Murder Of His Infant Daughter, Currently Has 2 Children Under The Age Of 2

[Sugar Cookie]

Putting this here since he has two more children under the age of two and family says he seems overwhelmed caring for them.

Police arrested a man they believe is responsible for an infant's death that happened over a decade ago.

Benjamin Russell was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter for the 2009 death of his 3-month-old daughter, the Anoka County Sheriff's Office announced Friday.

The baby's cause of death was determined to be suffocation.

When initially interviewed by law enforcement in 2009, Russell said he set his daughter down for a nap. He went to check on her an hour later and she had rolled over onto a stomach and was face down on a blanket he had used to prop up her bottle.

On July 5, the ACSO received reports that Russell admitted to being responsible for his daughter's death.

According to the complaint, Russell confided in a friend about what happened on the day his daughter died. He told them the child would not stop crying when he was trying to lay her down for a nap and could no longer handle it.

He allegedly placed a pillow over his daughter's face to "muffle the sound" before leaving the room. He said he returned a short time later and the child had turned blue. Russell admitted that he did not call 911 immediately when he discovered his daughter.

Russell currently has two children under the age of two. Family members report he seems often overwhelmed caring for them.

Father charged for the 2009 murder of his infant daughter

Benjamin Russell was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter for the 2009 death of his 3-month-old daughter.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Sugar Cookie]

 

[Bobbo]

Overwhelmed?

Then. Don’t. Have. Them.

 

[Granmaw]

Who in their ever-loving mind would have kids with someone of this history??? Nevermind. I forget that penis trumps everything for some idiots.

 

[Busy Bee]

Why oh why would you have more infants when you know, for absolute sure that caring for them is beyond your skill set. You’ve KILLED one innocent wee babe, dead! because you are selfish and you have no patience! This makes no sense!

 

[Ramona the brave]

Who in their ever-loving mind would have kids with someone of this history??? Nevermind. I forget that penis trumps everything for some idiots.

It's not the penis. It's the trauma, daddy issues, and/or incredibly low self-esteem, often accompanied by lies and manipulation by said penis.

Plus, minus the hair, he's good-looking.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

A Minnesota father who smothered his 3-month-old daughter with a pillow to “muffle her cries” as he smoked a cigarette in 2009 has formally pleaded guilty to murder.

Benjamin Alexander Russell, 38, petitioned to enter a guilty plea to second-degree murder on May 18, last Thursday, saying that his attorneys and the prosecution had agreed to a sentence of 138 months (11.5 years) in prison in exchange for a guilty to plea to the murder charge and the dismissal of a first-degree manslaughter charge.

Court documents said that Russell tried to pass off the child’s death as an accident.

“The Defendant said he put Child A down for a nap at 12:30 p.m. When he went back to check on her about an hour later, it appeared she had rolled over onto her stomach and was facedown on a blanket he had used to prop up her bottle. The Defendant said when he went to roll her onto her back, she did not respond,” the warrant said. “He gave her mouth-to‐mouth CPR until paramedics arrived. She was non-responsive.”

When an autopsy was performed, the cause of the girl’s death was “determined to be positional asphyxia/suffocation based in part on the history provided by the Defendant.”

Upon further review — and with the benefit of damning admissions from the defendant in 2022 about “the perfect alibi” — it became clear that the 2009 death was a murder, authorities said.

The defendant told the baby’s mother on July 4, 2022 that he killed the infant with a pillow when she would not stop crying.

“The Defendant explained that Child A would not stop crying while he was trying to lay her down for a nap and he ‘couldn’t handle any of it,” the warrant said. “He took a pillow and placed it over Child A’s face to ‘muffle the sound,'” left the room to smoke a cigarette, and “returned twelve minutes later.”

By then, the infant had turned “blue.”

“The Defendant told NK that she had given him the perfect alibi at the time of Child A’s death because she had told him to remove the pillows and blankets from Child A’s crib the night before,” documents said. “Since he knew the blankets shouldn’t have been there, he told the investigators he had used them to prop up a bottle and Child A rolled into the blanket.”

Court documents further revealed that Russell, prior to his arrest, had two young children under the age of 2 and that family viewed him as an overwhelmed parent who had said concerning things.

“[T]he Defendant has said he is angry he has them [the other children] when God knows what he did to Child A,” the warrant said. “On July 8,2022, the Defendant sent a text message to the mother of his youngest children. He wrote, ‘I don’t give a shit about those kids if you’re not a part of it [SIC].”

Dad who 'couldn't handle any of it' and smoked cigarette as crying 3-month-old suffocated admits to murder

A Minnesota father who smothered his 3-month-old daughter with a pillow to "muffle her cries" as he smoked a cigarette has formally pleaded guilty to murder.

lawandcrime.com

 

[Sugar Cookie]

A 38-year-old father in Minnesota will only spend about a decade in prison after he admitted to killing his 3-month-old daughter more than a decade ago by smothering the infant with a pillow to “muffle her cries,” telling investigators he just “couldn’t handle any of it.” Anoka County District Court Judge Jenny W. Jasper on Monday sentenced Benjamin Alexander Russell to 11 1/2 years in a state correctional facility for the 2009 slaying of young Suvanna Russell, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.

Russell was initially arrested for Suvanna’s death in July of last year and charged with one count each of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. After initially pleading not guilty to both charges, Russell in May reached a deal with prosecutors in which he agreed to plead to the murder charge in exchange for the 11 1/2-year sentence and the manslaughter charge being dropped.

Because Russell had never previously been convicted of a crime, under Minnesota state law he was facing a maximum sentence of only 15 years for the murder charge. Judge Jasper also credited Russell with 389 days of time already served

Dad who confessed to smothering crying newborn because he 'couldn't handle any of it' is sentenced for murder

Benjamin Alexander Russell was sentenced to 11 1/2 years in prison after he admitted to smothering his 3-month-old daughter to death more than a decade ago because she wouldn't stop crying.

lawandcrime.com