Two parents have been charged with involuntary manslaughter after their newborn baby died from jaundice.
One day after Rachel Joy Piland, 30, of Lansing, Michigan, gave birth to her third child, Abigail, on Feb. 6, a midwife suggested to Piland and her husband, Joshua Barry Piland, 36, that they bring the infant to a doctor because she seemed to have jaundice, the Lansing State Journal reported.
According to court testimony, Rachel Piland declined and also canceled a doctor’s appointment for the child that the midwife had made, the Journal reported.
Piland told the midwife “God ... makes no mistakes” and that the child was fine, but the infant’s condition worsened, a police detective testified. The next day, Abigail coughed up blood, and Rachel Piland’s mother told her the baby’s skin was “not the right color,” according to the Journal.
On Feb. 9, both Piland’s mother and Rachel Piland saw blood coming from Abigail’s nose. The mother wanted to call for help, but “Rachel would not allow her,” the detective testified, the Journal reported.
The detective said the baby was taken to Joshua Piland, who performed one rescue breath and did not want to try CPR because he didn’t know how to perform it on children, according to the Journal.
“They then brought Abigail upstairs to pray for her. Joshua continued to massage Abigail, attempting to get her good air,” Detective Peter Scaccia testified. “Both Josh and (Rachel) reached out to friends and fellow church members to come to their home and pray for Abigail’s resurrection, but never called the police.”
A medical examiner said Abigail died from conditions related to jaundice, the Journal reported.
Rachel and Joshua Piland face up to 15 years of prison, if convicted.
Read more at the Lansing State Journal.
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