Missouri – In a heartbreaking incident in Missouri, a young child’s life was tragically cut short due to gross parental negligence. The aftermath has left a community in shock and a family torn apart by the consequences of the parents’ actions.
The 30-year-old father, identified as M. Bass, 3, and the 28-year-old mother, identified as D. Randle, face serious charges following the death of their 3-year-old son, who succumbed to injuries after falling from an eighth-floor apartment window at Independence Towers. The charges filed against them include first-degree felony endangering the welfare of a child, highlighting the severe lack of care and foresight in preventing the tragedy.
The distressing event unfolded early in the week when emergency responders were summoned to the scene after a 911 call reported a child had fallen from a height, landing on the ground below. The witness who called 911 reported regularly observing children’s toys descending past her window, originating from the direction of the apartment from which the victim fell. She noted that this occurrence had been happening regularly for the past eight months. Upon arrival, the first responders found the young boy in critical condition. The incident was exacerbated by the unsafe and unsanitary conditions he and his siblings were living in.
Investigations revealed that on the morning of the incident, Bass had left the apartment to walk the dog, leaving Randle to supervise their four children. It was during this time that the incident occurred. Randle, upon noticing emergency services at the building and receiving a frantic call from Bass, discovered the window open and their son missing. The couple admitted that the window from which the child fell had been faulty for over a year, equipped only with a makeshift security measure—a blue pole placed in the window track, inadequately securing it. Despite multiple complaints to building management regarding the window’s condition, no effective action had been taken to rectify the hazard.
The living conditions in the family’s apartment were described as deplorable by investigators. The children’s room, where the fall occurred, was particularly in a dire state, with dirt-covered beds lacking sheets, used diapers scattered around, and a pervasive smell of u-ine. Compounding the tragedy, one of the siblings revealed to authorities that physical abuse was a common occurrence within the home, referring to an object used by the parents for punishment, which he termed “Mr. Blacky.” The child then drew a picture of the object the parents used to punish them. According to authorities, the child drew a “black whip or belt-like object.”
Both parents acknowledged using a belt to discipline their children, a fact that paints a grim picture of the environment in which these young lives were being shaped. During interrogation, the parents also admitted they were aware the children could get out of the window for nearly a year as their neighbors and the management of the building notified them their kids were throwing toys out of the window. Bass and Randle are currently being held in jail, with the bond set at $100,000.
The grandmother of the 3-year-old boy set up a GoFundMe page that reads, “My grandson tragically passed away this past week after falling out of a window from his 8th floor apartment. I am working to make funeral arrangements for my beloved grandson. Anything helps during this incredibly difficult time.”
