Dad arrested on 1st-degree manslaughter charges in death of 3-month-old daughter (Yakima County, Washington)

Note that this baby was killed back in 2008. Why it took the authorities so long to arrest dad ROBERT LEINGANG is not explained.

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2011/10/03/man-arrested-for-death-of-infant-daughter-in-2008

Man arrested for death of infant daughter in 2008
By Molly Rosbach
Yakima Herald-Republic


A 26-year-old man was arrested Monday morning on charges stemming from the death nearly three years ago of his 3-month-old daughter.

Sarenadee Alexus Leingang died Nov. 15, 2008, after being airlifted from Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital to Seattle Children's Hospital, where doctors found she had suffered injuries they said could not have resulted from an accident, according to a Selah police report.

Her father, Robert Leingang, was arrested Monday on charges of first-degree manslaughter. It was not immediately clear what took the investigation so long to complete. Police said Monday they wanted to consult with prosecutors before talking about the case.

However, police reports filed in Yakima County Superior Court said Leingang underwent a polygraph test in June and said afterward he may have "accidentally shaken" Sarenadee as he attempted to wake her mother, Maranda Lyn Moss, now 24.

The police report said that Leingang told them that he and Moss had taken methamphetamine the night before their daughter died, and that all three slept in the same bed.

On the day of the baby's death, the police report says, Leingang woke Moss and told her the baby didn't look right. Moss then carried the child across the street to the Selah police station.

Both Leingang and Moss had a history of theft and using other people's bank accounts and Social Security numbers to establish online accounts for utilities services, which they never paid for.

Leingang also has a background of minor offenses dating to when he was a juvenile, including convictions for possession of stolen property and jumping bail.

In January, he was sentenced to 20 months for second-degree identity theft. He was living in Yakima at the time of his arrest for the manslaughter charge.

Leingang's bail has been set at $1 million. He is scheduled to be arraigned at 1:30 this afternoon in the Yakima County Courthouse.