Parents charged with homicide after baby died of blunt force trauma, Midlands sheriff says
Two South Carolina parents were arrested for the death of their 7-month-old baby in December, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department announced on Friday.
Caleb Nix, 22, and Kyla Nix, 24, were arrested on Feb. 14 and charged with homicide by child abuse after an autopsy found that their daughter had died from blunt force trauma, the department said in a release.
Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford told reporters Friday that an autopsy revealed the child suffered trauma to the head, which resulted in her death.
“The trauma sustained by 7-month-old Sage Nix was not found to be accidental in nature,” Rutherford said, adding that the coroner’s office is responsible for determining whether a death is accidental or a homicide.
Rutherford explained that the delay in ruling the child’s death a homicide was caused by a thorough investigation.
“The reason that this may seem delayed to some, since the death happened in December, is because we have to wait for all the reports to come back,” Rutherford said. “When a child dies, we not only subpoena the records for the child from the day they were at the hospital and pronounced dead, but we also subpoena records from any pediatrician visits that child had (and) we look to see if they had any ER visits. “
On Dec. 18, officers went to a residence at the 100 block of Stone Hill Road in Chapin at the request of EMS, who were transporting the baby, who was unresponsive. The child died after being taken to the hospital, according to the release.
“RCSD and the Coroner’s Office immediately launched an investigation into the suspicious death of the baby,” the sheriff’s department’s release states. “At the conclusion of the investigation and autopsy results it was determined that the cause of death was blunt force trauma.”
As of a little after 10 a.m. Friday, the parents were being detained at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and awaiting bond.
This story was originally published February 21, 2025 at 11:08 AM.
