Rapides Sheriff's Office: Pineville parents jailed on charges stemming from baby's death

The parents of an infant are in jail after the baby was taken to a hospital Saturday and died later that day in New Orleans, according to the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office.

Hospital staff reported to the sheriff's office the baby's "extensive bruising and difficulty breathing," reads a news release. As an investigation began, medical personnel found injuries to the baby's torso, head and lower extremities, as well as bleeding on the brain.

Detectives were told the child's injuries were life-threatening, so the baby was flown to Children's Hospital in New Orleans.

The child's father, 38-year-old Rodney Dale Guillotte Jr. of Pineville, allegedly had battered the baby and its mother over the past two weeks, reads the release. Warrants were secured for his arrest, and detectives took him into custody about noon on Saturday.

Guillotte was booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center #1.

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Detectives also arrested the baby's mother, Elisha Cheyenne Mazerolle of the 100 block of Camellia Lane, because she "allegedly had firsthand knowledge of the batteries and the injuries but never took the infant to a hospital to treat the injuries and never made any calls to law enforcement to report the alleged abuse," it reads.

Officials were notified that evening by the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services that the baby had died, triggering upgraded charges for the pair.

The baby's name and age were not released.

The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Shannon Hanks at (318) 473-6727, the sheriff's office at (318) 473-6700 or Crime Stoppers at (318) 443-7867.

Guillotte, of the 900 block of Bayou Maria Road, faces charges of first-degree murder and domestic abuse battery with a child present. His bail is set at $1,551,500.

Mazerolle, 27, is facing a charge of being a principal to first-degree murder with bail set at $100,000. She also faces a probation violation.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Pineville parents face charges after baby dies in New Orleans hospital