A man from West Plains will spend the next two years in prison for his role in the death of a six-month-old child.
Investigators say Levi Coffel admitted to putting the baby in the bathtub of a home on Burke Avenue in West Plains in August of 2023.
According to the police report, Coffel says he left the bathroom to get something from the child’s diaper bag and got distracted.
When he returned, the baby was unresponsive. The child’s cause of death was ruled as a drowning.
Authorities did say Coffel attempted to resuscitate the child while calling 911.
When law enforcement arrived, they smelled drugs inside the home with Coffel, the young infant, and three other children.
He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to two years in prison.