A Florida couple has been charged after investigators said they killed their 3-week-old son and then staged the scene to make it look as if he had died in his sleep. Authorities say the baby died of suffocation after being tightly wrapped in a blanket, given a pacifier, strapped into a car seat, and placed in a bathtub.
Crystal Garcia, 21, and Anfernee Watts, 25, were arrested on Apr. 8 and face aggravated manslaughter of a child, child neglect causing great bodily harm, tampering with evidence, failure to report a death to a medical examiner, and false statements to police.
Court and jail records reviewed by PEOPLE show the case involves a homicide investigation in Hollywood, Florida, tied to the death of their infant son in August 2025, according to People.
Investigators said Garcia gave conflicting accounts after police responded to the home on Aug. 1, 2025, where the baby was found unresponsive in a playpen. She allegedly claimed she had fed, cleaned, and changed the infant before going to sleep, then later noticed he was not moving when she returned to the room.
Police said Watts also lied about leaving for an early-morning job interview that never happened. Detectives later concluded that he never left the house and that both parents worked together to conceal what happened before officers arrived.
According to the arrest affidavit, Garcia later admitted she wrapped the crying baby in a blanket, secured a pacifier in his mouth, strapped him into a car seat, and put him inside a bathtub. Investigators said loud music was played to drown out the baby's cries, and the child was left isolated behind a closed door for hours, KUTV reported.
The affidavit says the couple then placed the child back into the playpen after he was already dead in an effort to make it appear he had died naturally during sleep. Authorities also said they observed a changing pad with blood spots in the playpen and noticed a bleach smell at the scene.
The Broward Medical Examiner's Office initially noted decomposition when the baby was examined, then later ruled the cause of death was suffocation and the manner of death homicide in March 2026. Police said voice messages and later statements helped confirm that Garcia and Watts had fabricated their explanation for the child's death, as per CBS12.
Officials said the case remains an active criminal matter, and both defendants are being held on felony charges. The charges carry severe penalties under Florida law because the victim was an infant, and investigators say the couple attempted to hide the circumstances of his death.
