Parents arrested as autistic daughter, 10, 'crushed to death by her own bed'

A mum and dad have been charged with manslaughter after their daughter was reportedly crushed to death by her own bed.

The youngster who had autism and needed supervision was left alone for a number of hours, according to law enforcement officers. Paramedics tried to perform CPR on the 10-year-old girl once they arrived at the family home, but when first responders tried to move her leg, they reported that she was stiff, with rigor mortis already setting in, suggesting she had been dead for much longer than the parents had reported.

Investigators also said they noticed there was an "overpowering odour" consistent with urine and faeces in the bedroom, which only had a safety bed inside and several soiled mattresses, the affidavit against parents Darcy Cross, 57, and Heather Cross, 49.

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Heather claimed to investigators in Minnesota, USA, the condition was normal and described her daughter as a "faecal painter," according to court documents. Both of their daughters had autism and sleep disorders, she said, that led the parents to buy safety beds for their children.

According to court documents, the mum told investigators she gave the 10-year-old a bottle and her daily medicine sometime between 4am and 6am before going back to sleep. She said she woke up again around 9am and believed she heard the girls playing in their rooms.

The father claimed to authorities that he went outside to mow the lawn around noon and came back inside around 4.30pm to find his daughter dead, the affidavit states. He reportedly said the girl's head was pinned under the metal frame of the bed with her buttocks in the air, comparing it to the child’s pose in yoga.

"Darcy reported it was not uncommon for the girls to be in their beds during the day and reported that he and Heather would generally check on the girls every couple hours," the affidavit states.

But investigators allegedly found instead the "extremely high needs child was left alone for 10 to 12 hours with no supervision, court documents state.

According to the affidavit, Heather allegedly told authorities she had never seen the bed frame broken or out of place, but investigators allege text messages show she sent pictures of the broken frame to Darcy two days earlier.

When investigators rebuilt the girl's bed after obtaining it through a search warrant, they found that the four metal poles intended to be welded to plates were all broken, "so nothing was holding the metal cage to the bed frame," the court documents state.

The parents are due back in court on Wednesday, October 1, and their other daughter has been placed in protective custody.