A Nebraska mom allowed her baby to suffocate to death after her boyfriend allegedly flipped the child on his face to stop him crying, a court heard.
‘Happy go-lucky’ toddler Andrew Dean Zitel was three months and 22 days old when he died last summer. The boy’s mother Ashlen Zitel, 28, had come home on 15 August to find him not breathing so tried CPR before calling 911.
Police officers who arrived at the scene reported seeing bruising on the child’s forehead and face, court documents said. Andrew was taken to Beatrice Community Hospital and died shortly after.
An autopsy later revealed the baby had symptoms consistent with shaken baby syndrome – a serious brain injury that results from violently shaking an infant - including broken ribs and a brain hemorrhage, Law & Crime reports. The couple was subsequently arrested on child abuse charges.
Court documents seen by KOLN allege that Zitel’s boyfriend Austin Meyn became frustrated at the child crying and placed him face down on a mattress in the hopes he would pass out.
Text messages sent from Zitel, who was at work at the time, advised Meyn that he didn’t need to roll the baby back over, despite the risk of suffocating the child to death, investigators say. Meyn had allegedly fallen asleep, and when he woke, he found the child unresponsive, KOLN reported.
An online obituary paying tribute to baby Andrew said he “was a sweet and happy-go-lucky boy. He enjoyed cuddles with his brother and sister, watching Doggyland with his brother, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with his sister and being in his bouncer while his cousins played.”
Zitel previously pleaded guilty in January to negligent child abuse regarding her son’s death and to intentional child abuse in an unrelated sexual assault case, according to KLKN TV. On Wednesday, her charge was lowered as part of a plea deal. She has been sentenced to 120 days in jail, in 30 day intervals at a time, between 2027 and 2030; register as a sex offender for 25 years and complete six years of probation.
Zitel and Meyn are both accused of sexually assaulting a 15 year-old last year in the unrelated matter. Meyn pleaded not guilty in November, and appeared in court again Wednesday for a pretrial hearing. He remains in custody and is awaiting his next court date on May 6.
According to an obituary, baby Andrew “was a sweet and happy-go-lucky boy. He enjoyed cuddles with his brother and sister, watching Doggyland with his brother, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with his sister and being in his bouncer while his cousins played.”
