Pine River Couple Charged with Manslaughter in 10-Year-Old Daughter’s Death

Heather Cross (on left) and Darcy Cross (Credit: Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office)

A Pine River husband and wife were charged in Crow Wing County Court today with felony second-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of their 10-year-old daughter.

49-year-old Heather Cross and 57-year-old Darcy Cross also face one count of contributing to need for child protection or services, a gross misdemeanor. Bail or bond with conditions was set at $100,000 and without conditions at $400,000 for both individuals.

Emergency responders arrived at their home on August 25 and found a 10-year-old child who appeared to have been dead for several hours or more. Heather Cross told investigators she had been crushed by her bed, which included a frame that extended 4 to 5 feet above the bed.

According to court documents, the couple’s two special needs children were prescribed safety beds for safe sleep during the night. The beds allow the parents to keep the children zipped into them. Investigators believe the victim, who was an extremely high needs child, was left alone for 10 to 12 hours with no supervision.

The criminal complaint alleges the children were kept zipped in the beds during daytime hours for confinement purposes and that one of the beds had a metal frame pole break away that appeared to land on the child’s neck. Investigators determined the four vertical metal poles for the bed were not secured to the frame with screws and were sitting loose within the bed frame, providing no safety. The bed was also found to be saturated with urine and feces.

The other child, who is 12 years old, has been placed into protective custody.