Trashy Parents Drown Little Boy In The Toilet
Trashy Parents Drown Little Boy In The Toilet
On December 16th, 2022, Karen Roland requested assistance from deputies with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. The call was in regards to picking up her grandkids, 6-year-old Taylor and 5-year-old Blue. Her son, Dustin, had previously been married to Taylor and Blue’s mother, 28-year-old Ashley Rolands. The couple were wed in December of 2015 and divorced in September of 2021. Ashley was granted primary custody and was responsible for coordinating Dustin’s visitation, with Karen acting as an intermediary. However, visits ended after Ashley’s new boyfriend, 33-year-old Nathan Bridges, pulled a gun on Dustin.
Additionally, Dustin had filed a complaint on September 14th, claiming that Ashley had refused to allow visitation as ordered by the court. But soon, Ashley filed her own complaint, alleging that her ex-husband had failed to pay child support or to show up for visits sober. Dustin denied the allegations, saying that he had paid child support from the beginning of the custody battle and had been trying to fight for his kids. After the gun incident, Karen and Dustin were advised by a lawyer not to go to Ashley’s home. The 57-year-old grandmother fought for custody and, through a court order, was able to obtain visitation rights.
On the 16th of December, it was time to go get her grandbabies; after all, it was Blue’s 6th birthday. But when they arrived at Ashley’s home located at 211 Front Street in Moro, Arkansas, things immediately seemed amiss. According to Karen, “I heard Taylor whimpering. Of course, I didn’t know what was going on, and I busted through the door myself because I didn’t like the whimpering. It sounded like she was hurting.”
Six-year-old Taylor had apparent injuries that had scabbed over on the top of her head, which Ashley claimed came from an allergic reaction. The little girl’s hair had been cut, and according to Karen, she initially thought that Taylor was Blue based on how malnourished she had become. In fact, the little girl only weighed 36 lbs, which, according to the CDC, is on the very low end of normal. Furthermore, compared to a picture of a healthy Taylor posted on Karen’s social media, it was easy to tell that the little girl had not been eating.
However, 5-year-old Blue was nowhere to be found. According to Ashley, he was off staying with family and friends. In the interim, Taylor was rushed to Forrest City Hospital, where staff determined that she had been severely burned. The little girl had been suffering from third-degree burns to her arms, chest, and feet. Taylor told her grandmother that her mother’s boyfriend, Nathan, had thrown boiling water on her. She was then transported to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, for further treatment.
According to Karen, “She had puncture wounds like scissors had poked through her head. It looked like she’d been strangled around the neck, bite marks on her legs, several fractured ribs we found out, and an old injury to her leg that had been fractured before that didn’t grow back correctly.” In addition, Taylor could barely walk, and her clothing was soaked in urine. The little girl’s first request was water and something to eat. Karen stated, “I told her that she was safe, and just the look on her face was sheer terror.”
It was then that the grandmother reached back out to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for help with regards to the whereabouts of little Blue. She had a gut feeling that, based on the state of Taylor, Blue was not in the care of family or friends. Meanwhile, concerned family members went to Ashley’s home in Moro and confronted the mother and her boyfriend. She eventually confessed to her father, 62-year-old Tim Childers, that Blue was not in the care of family and friends, nor would he be celebrating his sixth birthday. Blue Allan Roland was dead, and his remains were located in the small home underneath the newly nailed hallway floorboards.
The deputies found a small flip-flop and a red and blue blanket. When they removed the top layer of soil, they were met with the pungent odor of decay. When they realized what they were dealing with, the deputies called in the State Police for assistance. Soon, an unidentified mass that was believed to be a small human body wrapped in multiple layers of plastic bags was found. The remains, believed to be little Blue, were transferred to the Arkansas State Crime Lab. According to Kermit Channell, the director of the crime lab, the medical examiner will release the cause and manner of death in 30 to 60 days. Now, based on the state of decomposition, Blue’s tiny body had likely been there for months.
Ashley told law enforcement that Blue died on September 9th, just 5 days prior to his father Dustin filing a custody complaint. The little boy was allegedly killed as punishment for biting Nathan’s finger. According to Ashley, this angered her new boyfriend, and he proceeded to hold Blue’s head in the toilet, which caused him to drown. She claimed that he left the bathroom, and when she walked in, her son’s body lay limp on the floor. She then said that Nathan cut a hole in their wooden hallway floor, dug a hole in the ground, and buried Blue in it.
Additionally, Ashley told police that Nathan also caused injuries to her daughter Taylor, saying that he held her head under hot water as punishment for her bad behavior. However, Nathan’s ex-wife, Rebecca Fiting, told police that she went to talk to Ashley when she heard that something was wrong. Rebecca and Nathan were divorced in October of 2018, but they shared two kids. Ashley told Rebecca that Blue had left the bathroom with a swollen face and that he was foaming at the mouth before collapsing and dying. According to Rebecca, Ashley told her that she was the one who buried Blue because she didn’t know what to do.
Ashley and Nathan were arrested the following day. The two were charged with capital homicide, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, endangering the welfare of a minor, and battery. Ashley was also charged with two felony counts of permitting child abuse. At booking, Ashley sported a black eye. They are currently being held without bond and are scheduled to reappear in court on January 23rd, 2023. According to sources, Nathan is currently being held in the Lee County Jail, while Ashley is being held in the St. Francis County Jail. Unofficial sources have claimed that Ashley had been moved due to being attacked by another inmate, but that information is just that—unofficial.
News of Blue’s death sent shockwaves through Moro, Arkansas. Just an hour east of Memphis, the community boasts a population of just 200 residents. Word travels quickly in a town that small. Blue’s father, Dustin, was understandably heartbroken over the whole ordeal. He told reporters, “I wish I could have been there a long time ago, but it was her holding me back from my children. I don’t want anybody thinking that this was my fault. I love my kids very much.”
A friend of the family, Anita Whitby, set up a GoFundMe campaign to support Taylor’s recovery and her future. Karen said that she will use some of the money to pay for updates to her home where the little girl will live with her and her father, Dustin. The house is in need of updates so that she will be able to maintain a healthy home for her granddaughter. In addition, Taylor’s recovery is going to require a lot of therapy. Understandably, as of the date of this recording, the campaign has raised just over half of its $50,000 goal.
A funeral service was held for Blue on January 2nd, 2023, at the Morgan Funeral Home Chapel in Forrest City, Arkansas. In the little boy’s obituary, his loved ones made it very clear how they felt. They noted that Blue was survived by his father, Dustin Roland, his sister, Taylor Elizabeth Roland, and his grandparents, Karen Roland, Tim Childers, Kimberly Christopherson, and Walter McGee. He was predeceased by his mother, Ashley Marie Childers. To the Roland family, Ashley is dead and no longer shares their family name. If she is found guilty, the punishment for capital homicide in the state of Arkansas can be death.
