A U.S. Marine Corps staff sergeant and his wife have been arrested and charged after their two-year-old daughter was killed by a heavy suitcase meant to keep her inside of her playpen.
30-year-old Kodi Glenn Simon and his wife, Kateri Ann Simon, have both been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to the 2022 death of their toddler daughter, Maeve Simon, reported the Tampa Bay Times.
Maeve died after a heavy suitcase packed with books fell on top of her. The suitcase had been placed atop her Pack N' Play playpen where she had been put to sleep, stated the Florida Department of Children and Families.
The suitcase pinned Maeve by her neck, eventually asphyxiating her. At the time, the family lived in Florida. They later moved to Ohio.
"The parents knowingly placed items over the top of the toddler's Pack N' Play in an effort to keep her confined inside," an investigator wrote. "Although they were not doing it for discipline purposes, and although they were not willfully trying to harm her, their actions ultimately led to her demise."
Prior to her death, her parents noted issues with Maeve escaping her crib at night. She would crawl out, "mess things up in her room" and cause other disturbances preventing the family from sleeping at night. Her parents began placing her in the Pack N' Play pen to sleep to avoid her hurting herself.
Last February, Kodi Simon pleaded guilty to child endangerment after undergoing a court martial. He was initially also charged with involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide, but the charges were removed by military officials. He was sentenced to a year of confinement and received a bad conduct discharge from the military.
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