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Father charged in infant son’s death

A heavy day of drinking alcohol by the father is suspected in the death of an infant baby, according to charges filed in Steele County District Court.
Cory Neal Stucky, 30, of Blooming Prairie, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter and child endangerment, both felonies, in connection with his role in his son’s death in July. He could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the charges.
Stucky appeared in court last week and was released on the conditions that he abstain from any use of alcohol or other controlled substances. He is due back in court Jan. 4.
Police responded to a medical emergency of a child not breathing at Stucky’s residence in the 100 block of 2nd Street Northeast in Blooming Prairie around 7:20 a.m. on July 18. The almost 2-month-old baby was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Austin where he died a short time later. 
Stucky told police at the time that he had fallen asleep with the baby on his chest and had woken up to his girlfriend screaming that the child was not breathing, according to court documents. Stucky took off for the hospital.
An investigator with the Mower County Coroner’s Office interviewed the parents of the child. During that interview, Stucky said nobody, including the baby, was sick in the house. He told the investigator the last thing he remembered was being up until about 1:30 a.m. at which time he placed the child on his chest face down. When he was asked if he had been drinking, Stucky denied having anything to drink and that he was a heavy sleeper, court documents say.
The investigator also interviewed the boy’s mother, who said she found the child lying face down by Stucky’s right arm. When she noted the baby was cold to the touch and not breathing, she immediately began to cry and scream, called 911 and started CPR.
The baby’s grandfather told investigators that Stucky went around the house picking up empty beer cans and placing them in a garbage bag, according to the complaint. The relative also said a friend took the bag away from the house to dispose of it. 
A couple days after the death, the investigator once again inquired about Stucky’s alcohol consumption. When asked why he didn’t disclose that he had been drinking, Stucky responded that it was because he had never been asked. At that point, Stucky admitted to drinking 10 beers before laying down with the baby, court documents say.
During an interview with the mother, investigators learned that Stucky started drinking alcohol around 11 a.m. and he had at least 24 beers between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. on the day prior to the child’s death. The mother reported that he had gone to a local bar later in the evening. When he came back home, he was leaning in the doorway and fell over when his daughter went to hug him, the complaint alleges.
At about 1 a.m., the baby started crying and the mother held him. At one point, Stucky got up and took the child aggressively stating that it was his weekend to get up with him. 
According to the complaint, the mother told investigators that after she got home from the hospital, Stucky was cleaning up beer bottles. She expressed concern about his drinking in the past, court records show.
A neighbor also provided a statement to investigators. One neighbor described Stucky’s intoxication level as “tanked” during the course of the day. 
An autopsy revealed that there were findings consistent with asphyxia made as to the immediate cause of death. There were no other causes of death indicated in the autopsy. 
The charges against Stucky allege he caused the death of another by culpable negligence in which he created an unreasonable risk and consciously took chances of causing death or great bodily harm to another.

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