(Graphic Content Warning: This article contains disturbing images and descriptions of child abuse and murder. Reader discretion is strongly advised.)
A 34-year-old Arkansas man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison after confessing to the murder of his girlfriend’s 5-year-old son.
Nathan Bridges admitted to killing young Blu Rolland by drowning him in a toilet bowl. The incident occurred after the child bit Bridges’ finger, which he had deliberately placed in the boy’s mouth.
Judge Danny Glover, heading over the State Circuit Court, imposed a lengthy sentence on Bridges for the 2022 killing of Blu Rolland.
Court documents (attached at the end of the article) revealed that Bridges received 40 years for first-degree murder and an additional 20 years for first-degree battery, with the sentences to run consecutively.
Ashley Rolland, Blu’s 30-year-old mother, was also arrested in connection with her son’s death. She faces multiple felony charges, including capital murder, permitting child abuse, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, child endangerment, and battery, and is awaiting trial.
The case came to light on December 16, when Blu’s father’s family became alarmed after his sister was found with severe burns and Blu was repeatedly kept from scheduled custody visits, as reported by the New York Post.
Ashley Rolland, Blu’s 28-year-old mother, who appeared with a black eye in her booking photo, blamed her boyfriend, 33-year-old Nathan Bridges after both were arrested the day after Blu’s body was found.
According to the affidavit, she told police that Bridges killed Blu on September 9 by shoving his head in the toilet as “punishment” for biting his finger.
She claimed she was in another room at the time and found her son struggling to breathe and limp when she entered the bathroom after Bridges left.
Rolland said Bridges then “cut a hole in their wooden floor, dug a hole in the ground, and buried Blu under the house.”
However, a witness named Rebecca Fiting told police that Rolland had confided in her that Blu had emerged from the bathroom with swelling and foaming at the mouth before collapsing and dying.
Rolland allegedly admitted to burying Blu under the floorboards herself, according to Fiting’s statement. However, NBC did not clarify the relationship between Fiting and Rolland.
Blu’s father, Dustin Rolland, 30, filed a complaint on September 14 about being denied visitation, unaware that his son had been dead for five days.
His mother, Karen Rolland, finally called the police after Blu was not brought for another visitation, but his sister appeared with severe burns and was in a dire state, asking for water and food.
Karen Rolland told NBC News that the girl’s clothes were soaked in urine, she could barely walk, and she looked terrified.
Ashley Rolland informed the police that Bridges also inflicted those injuries on her daughter, saying he held her under hot water as punishment.
An online fundraiser, which had raised over $25,000 by Friday, showed images of the girl’s severe burns and described her condition, including malnutrition, cracked ribs, and multiple burns in various stages of healing.
Ashley Rolland and Nathan Bridges face charges of capital murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, endangering the welfare of a minor, and battery.
Rolland also faces two additional felony charges for permitting child abuse.
Dustin Rolland expressed his frustration to NBC, stating that he had been fighting for his kids but was kept away by his ex-wife, whom he married in December 2015 and divorced in June of the previous year.
He emphasized that he loves his children and does not want anyone to think the situation was his fault.
Rolland’s trial is scheduled for September 17, 2024.
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