A Bloomington couple was sentenced to three years of probation Friday after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the drowning of their 21-month-old son.
Eddy Pierre Louis and his wife, Sabina Pierre Louis, each pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree manslaughter in August. They were sentenced to 48 months in prison Friday by Judge William Koch, who stayed the sentence and put them on three years of probation instead.
According to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, prosecutors did not ask for a specific sentence “except to say the couple should not be placed on probation.”
Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines call for 48 months in prison for a second-degree manslaughter conviction. In explaining the lesser sentence, Judge Koch said the couple had shown remorse and accepted responsibility for their toddler’s death. He also pointed to the couple’s support system and the “less onerous” nature of the crime when explaining his decision, according to the county attorney.
A criminal complaint in the case states that Eddy, 55, and Sabina, 26, left their apartment just before 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning in September 2019 and shopped at a Cub Foods and Walmart. They were gone for nearly two hours, including time spent driving.
Their three children were asleep at home when they left, but they returned home to the sound of their four-year-old in the bathroom. When they entered, they found their 21-month-old floating in the tub.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office’s Child Protection Division had the two older children removed from the home and they are currently living with family friends. The couple must complete family therapy, a parenting class, and 150 hours of community service as part of their sentence. They will be under house arrest for the first 180 days of their probation.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
