Baby Survives Being Trapped Under Dead Father’s Decomposing Body For Days

A 10-month-old baby in Sabine, Louisiana, is lucky to be alive after her father collapsed on top of her, dying instantly. The baby was able to survive underneath the decomposing body for several days before the 5-year-old brother went to seek help from a neighbor.

According to The Shreveport Times, Sabine Parish Deputy Coroner Ron Rivers said the man may have been dead for up to three days before authorities were called to the location. The infant, Betty Jean Fields, was dehydrated and suffering from blistering skin. She also had a noticeably dark indentation on the right side of her forehead from being wedged against the wall and under the body of her father, Jason Fields, 43, according to Rivers.

From the location of the body, it appears that Fields was sitting on the edge of his bed on the computer when he fell backwards, landing on the baby and dying. Fox News says that Rivers felt that Fields died almost instantly as he made no attempt to get up.

Fields notes that when he found the body of Fields, it was in an advanced stage of decomposition. This means the body was most likely there for a few days. Fields had a history of cardiac problems, and no autopsy will be performed because of the condition of the body. There were no signs of trauma at the scene.

The body and baby Betty were only found after Betty’s 5-year-old brother went for help. Authorities are unsure how the boy managed to cope between the time his father died and when he went for help. The boy showed up at a neighbor’s door explaining that he thought his father was dead. The neighbor went to the home and found the body and the boy’s sister.

Fields said he did not personally interview the boy, so he is unsure what transpired between the father’s death and the boy seeking help. However, he did say that the boy sustained no injuries and was fully checked out medically. Baby Betty is expected to fully recover, but the children are now without a father. At the time of the incident, their mother was incarcerated in the Sabine Parish women’s jail. She only had a few days remaining on her sentence before she could return home. However, the judge granted her early release so she could go care for her children following the death of their father.

This isn’t the first time a baby has survived against the odds. One baby survived an 11-story fall off of an apartment balcony.