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Couple charged in son's dehydration death had boy removed from home in 2017

The child was found dead on March 16.

WYOMING, Mich. - A Wyoming couple whose underweight son was removed from their care last year because of a "substantial risk of harm'' were arraigned Tuesday morning for the boy's March dehydration death.

The death of 19-month-old Yurik Michael Birkenmeyer comes almost three years to the day the couple lost their two-month-old daughter to what investigators called "unsafe sleep conditions.'' No charges were filed in that case.

Alexander D. Birkenmeyer, 30, and Andrea M. Todd, 26, were arraigned in Wyoming District Court for second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and second-degree child abuse. If convicted, they face up to life in prison.

Judge Pablo Cortes set bond for each at $750,000. They will return to Wyoming District Court next week for a probable cause conference.

Investigators say the couple caused the boy's death "by the grossly negligent failure to perform legal duty; fail to provide water.''

The child's cause of death is listed as "dehydration due to neglect by caregivers,'' according to a probable cause affidavit in Wyoming District Court.

"Andrea first said she got home from work and heard Yurik cry and gave him food/water, but later said this wasn't true,'' Wyoming Detective Margaret McKinnon wrote in the probable cause affidavit. "She heard him cry and ignored it.

"In the morning, she canceled Yurik's doctor appointment and went back to sleep,'' McKinnon wrote. "Yurik was placed in a very hot room with a space heater next to the bed and he had no water.''

Alexander Birkenmeyer was provided with parenting classes and "educated that as a caregiver, food and water is a necessity,'' McKinnon wrote. "(Birkenmeyer) stated he was up and provided food/water in the morning; this is not possible.''

The boy's March 16 death comes three years after the couple's infant daughter died while sleeping with her father in the southern Kent County community of Alto.

Birkenmeyer told Kent County sheriff's deputies he and his daughter fell asleep together and when he awoke about six hours later, the child was unresponsive.

The March 17, 2015 death of Ayla Marie Todd was ruled indeterminate. Her death certificate says she was found dead "bed sharing with father.''

In Dec. 2016, the parents were investigated for improper supervision of Yurik, then an infant, who was left in the care of an eight-year-old, court records show.

The child was taken into protective custody in Jan. 2017 after a judge determined he was "at substantial risk of harm.''

A Children's Protective Services worker on Jan. 11, 2017 expressed concerns to the parents about Yurik's "extremely low weight'' and asked the couple to bring him to a medical appointment the following day, court records show.

"Birkenmeyer refused to bring Yurik to the appointment and stated they would no longer be cooperative,'' a Children's Protective Services investigator wrote in a Jan. 2017 petition to make the child a temporary ward of the court. The investigator wrote "Yurik's life may be in immediate danger.''

The petition accuses the parents of leaving Yurik "in an unsafe sleeping environment repeatedly, propping bottles to feed him, failing to supervise him appropriately, failing to respond to his needs and failing to engage in services to assist with their parenting and Yurik's development.''

"Furthermore, Yurik is approximately six months old and weights (sic) fourteen pounds and four ounces, which does not register on the growth chart with no medical reason to explain this,'' the petition from CPS investigator Kayla Hinkle states.

The couple "admitted to CPS that their previous child passed away from SIDS in March of 2015 after co-sleeping with Alexander Birkenmeyer,'' court records show.

A woman who allowed the couple to stay with her in Kentwood provided investigators with photos "showing Yurik in a basinet filled with blankets and pillows and a bottle near his head,'' court records show.

A judge with Kent County Circuit Court's Family Division on Jan. 12, 2017 ordered that the child be removed from the home and placed in the custody of the Kent County Department of Health and Human Services. The court's jurisdiction over the child was terminated on Oct. 6, 2017 and Yurik was released to his parents.

A little more than five months later, Wyoming police and firefighters responded to an apartment on Longstreet Avenue north of 28th Street SW on a report of a child not breathing.

Responding crews found that the child had already died. The child's death was investigated for several months, leading to felony warrants against the parents. They were arrested on Monday, July 16.

Alexander Birkenmeyer is also charged as a habitual offender for a 2011 home invasion conviction. Court records indicate he broke into a home in Plainfield Township. A Kent County judge sentenced Birkenmeyer to six months in jail and placed him on probation for 2½ years. More jail time was added in 2012 when Birkenmeyer violated terms of probation.

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