Girlfriend of Sarasota County man charged with smothering son to death Christmas Eve now faces charges
Girlfriend of Sarasota County man charged with smothering son to death Christmas Eve now faces charges
SARASOTA -- The girlfriend of the Sarasota County man charged with smothering his son to death Christmas Eve now also faces charges in the boy's death, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.
Ashley Cole, 23, was arrested Monday night and charged with being a principal to aggravated manslaughter of a child in the death of 6-year-old James "Jimmie" Dearman. She was held without bond at the Sarasota County jail.
The boy's father and Cole's boyfriend, James "Rick" Dearman, 31, was arrested a week ago and is also facing charges in his son's death.
At about 10:10 p.m. Christmas Eve, deputies saw paramedics performing CPR on the boy at Dearman's Englewood home, according to the arrest report. A deputy observed bruising on the boy's back, and he was later pronounced dead at Englewood Hospital.
Deputies interviewed Dearman's live-in girlfriend, Cole, who said she was playing video games with Dearman at 7:30 p.m. when he told the boy and his 7-year-old sibling to go to bed, which is on the floor with blankets in a bedroom. The two children would not go to sleep and kept running around the room, she said.
Dearman made the children face the wall, according to the report. Dearman caught the victim watching the two play video games and became angry and grabbed him and put him on the couch, Cole told deputies at first.
During a follow-up interview New Year's Eve, Cole confirmed her previous statements and said she d asked Dearman if they could elevate the punishment to "squishing" since the "nose to wall" wasn't working, she said
She said Dearman made his son lie on his side with his face against the rear couch cushions. The 270-pound Dearman then pinned the boy against the couch with his full body, while the victim screamed he couldn't breathe and tried to free himself, according to the report. Cole held the boy's feet behind her back and Dearman used his body weight to pin the boy against the couch, she said New Year's Eve, according to her arrest report.
Dearman and Cole ignored the child and played video games while he screamed.
After five minutes, Jimmie was motionless, and the couple went into the garage to smoke a cigarette. They returned about 10 minutes later, and the boy was still lying on the couch. Cole told deputies the boy's lips were blue and he was not breathing, so she "ran to the garage to pray."
Dearman called 911 and performed CPR until paramedics arrived.
Investigators interviewed the 7-year-old sibling, who confirmed Cole's story and said: "When Dad squished him, he got dead."
Jessica De Leon, Herald law enforcement reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7049. You can follow her on Twitter@JDeLeon1012.
This story was originally published January 5, 2016 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Girlfriend of Sarasota County man charged with smothering son to death Christmas Eve now faces charges ."