Man drowned girlfriend’s 5-year-old in toilet, buried him under floorboard, cops say
An Arkansas man pleaded guilty to first-degree murder after officials say he drowned a 5-year-old boy in a toilet, then buried him under a floorboard.
In December 2022, Lee County sheriff’s deputies were called to a home in Moro for reports that there was a dead child inside, according to an affidavit.
When deputies arrived, a man at the home told them that his daughter, Ashley Rolland, said her son Blu Rolland was dead inside. When officials went inside the home, they found “newly nailed-down boards,” according to court records.
Deputies removed the floorboards and underneath they discovered “disturbed earth.” When they moved the top layer, they found a child’s flip-flop and a blue and red blanket, accompanied by a strong odor of decay, the affidavit said.
When authorities dug up the rest of the area, they found a body, later identified as Blu, “wrapped in multiple layers of plastic bags” under the blanket, according to the court documents.
When investigators questioned Rolland, she told them that Blu had upset her boyfriend, Nathan Bridges, on Sept. 9, 2022. She said as punishment, Bridges took Blu into the bathroom and repeatedly placed his head in toilet water until he drowned, the affidavit said.
Rolland said she was in the living room at the time, and when Bridges left the bathroom, she went in and found Blu struggling to breathe, according to court records. She said Bridges then cut a hole in the wooden floor and buried Blu in the ground.
McClatchy News reached out to Bridges’ attorney on July 24 but did not immediately hear back.
Bridges pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and first-degree battery on July 15. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison, according to a July 18 news release from the Arkansas Department of Public Safety.
Rolland was also charged in connection with Blu’s death. She is charged with first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, endangering the welfare of a minor and battery. She is set for pretrial on Sept. 17.
“We are happy that Nathan Bridges accepted responsibility for the death of Blu Rolland. Although the resolution of his case helps bring some closure, there will forever be a void in Ashley’s life,” Rolland’s attorney Erin Lewis told McClatchy News in an email.
“We continue to maintain our client’s innocence. Ashley had no part in Blu’s murder. Ashley was the victim of severe emotional abuse at the hands of Bridges.”
Moro is a 70-mile drive southwest from Memphis, Tennessee.
This story was originally published July 24, 2024 at 10:59 AM with the headline "Man drowned girlfriend’s 5-year-old in toilet, buried him under floorboard, cops say."
