Infant's Death Terrifying

Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty. A local couple is facing serious charges following the death of an infant allegedly in their care. Deputies with the Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office responded to a call on May 10, 2023 of an infant in distress. When deputies arrived at an address on Worley Street in Monroe, LA the infant was not breathing. The child had severe burns on both of her legs according to officers, and was transported to a local hospital. The child was pronounced dead at the hospital, as a doctor said that the child did have second-degree burns on her legs that appeared to be several days old. Officers said there were bloody diapers on the floor at the residence. Officers encountered an individual named Trent M. Herbert at the residence, who asked officers why they were at the residence. Hebert was identified as the father and asked if the child was ok, but officers asked him about his whereabouts, to which Hebert said that he "was out jogging". Edwards was barefoot, as he told officers that he had been out walking and couldn't provide a time frame or location as to where he was, according to reports. While at the hospital with deputies, Shaneka Edwards, identified as the mother, told them that the child was with her and that she had not seen Edwards. She reported being alone with the child, so she called 911. She also said that she hadn't seen Hebert since the six-week-old child was born. Edwards and Herbert were both taken in for interviews, where Edwards admitted that she lied about not seeing Herbert. According to officers, Edwards said that Hebert was bathing the child and the child started breathing "erratically", then not at all, as they said that CPR was tried, leading them to call 911. Edwards said that the burns on the child's legs came from a bowl of hot noodles that was on the arm of the couch by the child which was "kicked", causing the bowl to fall on the child's legs, as she was in the bathroom. Edwards then said that the child wasn't taken to see a doctor because she feared that child protection service would take the child. Hebert said that it was he who put the bowl of hot noodles on the arm of the couch but officers told Herbert that the burns were not consistent with splashing water burns. Hebert then said the burns happened while he was bathing the child. He also said that Edwards was not at home during that time. Edwards and Hebert were charged with Negligent Homicide and taken to Ouachita Correctional Center.