Parents charged in death of 3-month old baby in Richland County

A couple has been arrested and charged Wednesday by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department in connection to the death of 3-month-old baby boy.

Danielle Jeanette Elrod, 26, and Jason Noel Goodrich, 26, both are charged with homicide by child abuse, a crime if convicted carries a sentence of 20 years to life, according to the sheriff’s department.

Goodrich has a criminal record that includes a domestic violence charge.

At 1 a.m. on Nov. 5, sheriff’s deputies responded to 6 Reynard Court, not far from Oak Pointe Elementary in Irmo, after EMS had called because of a suspicious death.

The 3-month-old boy was found unresponsive in the bed, the sheriff’s department said.

Richland County Coroner Gary Watts stated the baby boy died as a result of asphyxiation, caused by unsafe sleeping conditions created by Elrod and Goodrich.

The parents had been drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana before lying in bed with the infant, according to the sheriff’s department.

Elrod and Goodrich turned themselves in to Richland County Sheriff’s Department investigators and are being held at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.

Goodrich has a criminal record, according to SLED. In May 2016, he was convicted of a misdemeanor hit and run charge in Columbia that resulted in property damage.

In August 2016, Goodrich was arrested and charged by the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department with first degree domestic violence. A disposition hasn’t been reached in the felony offense.

This story was originally published December 6, 2017 at 3:32 PM with the headline "Parents charged in death of 3-month old baby in Richland County."