27-year-old Levi Michael Coffel was arrested and charged with abuse/neglect of a child resulting in death. According to the police report Coffel was caring for four small children and had put the infant in a bathing seat and put the seat in a bathtub and started the water running allegedly thinking the drain was open, which it was not. He left the infant unattended to get the child’s diaper bag. He became distracted and when he returned the infant was submerged under water still in the bathing seat. When emergency personnel arrived at the scene they could smell an odor of intoxicants emitting from Coffel. A blood alcohol test shows his level at .091. A blood sample was taken from Coffel and was submitted to the Missouri Crime Lab. Coffel is being held on $100,000 bond. The West Plains Police report is available below.
Police Report
On August 9th, 2023, at approximately 1802 hours, the West Plains Fire Department, South Howell County Ambulance, and West Plains Police Department responded to a medical emergency located on Burke Ave, West Plains, Mo. It was reported that an infant was not breathing. Bystanders and personnel provided medical assistance to the infant but were unable to revive the child. An investigation is active and being conducted at this time. -99-
UPDATE
Officers that responded to the scene detained a male subject identified as Levi Michael Coffel, age 27, due to him emitting the odor of intoxicants and being the sole person in care/custody/ control of four small children which included the infant victim. Coffel was transported to the West Plains Police Department where he was later interviewed by Detectives. Prior to being interviewed by Detectives, Coffel verbally consented to provide a sample of his breath that determined his blood-alcohol level (BAC) was 0.191. A search warrant was later obtained permitting Detectives to collect a blood sample of Coffel’s blood. The sample will be submitted to the Missouri State Patrol Crime Laboratory. Coffel was interviewed by Detective who gave incriminating information. Coffel stated that he had consumed intoxicants while he was at his residence with the children. At an undetermined time, Coffel placed a six-month-old infant in a bathing seat inside of the bathtub with the water running in the upstairs bathroom. He believed that the drain on the bathtub was open as he always does, but later admitted the drain was plugged. He departed the bathroom to retrieve the child’s diaper bag, leaving her unattended, and became distracted as he was trying to locate it. Coffel estimated that the child had been unattended for a “few minutes” and as he returned to the bathroom, he observed her submerged under water while still in the bathing seat. Coffel immediately took Jane Doe downstairs and multiple people attempted resuscitative efforts until emergency services arrived at the residence. Coffel was arrested for the Abuse/Neglect of a Child- Resulting in Death. The Howell County Prosecutors Office filed charges with a bond of $100,000
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