Dad charged with involutary manslaughter in death of infant daughter; apparently smothered her to death while "co-sleeping" with her (Kansas City, Missouri)

What the hell is going on here? Notice that there is ZERO MENTION of a mother in this story. None. In fact, it appears that the father was custodial, perhaps when the baby was just one month old.

If so, then why was this fool granted custody of an infant? Note the following:

1) He is apparently homeless, drifting between Grandma's house and the City Union Mission, which I believe is a homeless shelter for men. He kept an infant girl here?

2) This guy has a chronic severe drug problem. No red flag there?

3) When the baby was just one month of age, he apparently fell asleep on her and broke her leg. The authorities response: Make him sign a piece of paper promising to be a good boy in the future. Seriously? We don't know why Mom was apparently eliminated from the picture, but was she really worse than this? Why didn't Mom get this kid-glove treatment along with all the breaks?

4) Dad breaks his promise, apparently gets high, and falls asleep on the baby AGAIN. This time he smothers her to death. He TELLS THE POLICE what he did. Yet they don't get around to arresting him for MONTHS.

Why the constant coddling? Who gave him custody? Who supported that decision? What happened to Mom?

Dad is identified as DEONOTE BARNETT.

http://fox4kc.com/2014/08/29/after-being-warned-not-to-co-sleep-with-infant-daughter-dad-charged-with-her-death/

After being warned not to co-sleep with infant daughter, dad charged with her death

Posted 10:06 pm, August 29, 2014, by Shannon O'Brien

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A little Kansas City, Mo. girl never made it to her first birthday. Friday, her father was accused of smothering the girl to death months ago while the two slept. Deonte Barnett, 22, has been charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter.

Police picked up Barnett Friday in KCK. He told police everything about his daughter Aubrie’s death, so it is a mystery why it took so long to charge him. Court documents revealed what he said happened the night his daughter died.

Family members of Barnett were stunned to learn of his arrest.

“Hey, I’ll tell you man, I’m a little shocked right now,” said a relative who only wished to be identified as Calvin.

He said Barnett’s grandmother’s house was home base for the dad and his baby girl.

“He was staying here with the child for a while,” Calvin explained.

He says Barnett was in and out with the child, at times even staying at the City Union Mission on Wabash, which is where police were called the night of February 26 earlier this year regarding a deceased infant. Barnett admitted to police that he fell asleep on the child.

“If he was a good dad, that wouldn’t have happened, that’s obvious, you know?”

Calvin said. Calvin said Barnett has a severe drug problem, marijuana being his drug of choice. According to police, Barnett told them he had smoked marijuana the night his baby died. He told them during the night he woke up on top of Aubrie. She felt limp, but was slightly breathing. He put her in a stroller and went back to sleep. When he woke the next day, she was dead.

“You’ve got to let the kid go, right, if he get like that, wouldn’t you?” Calvin asked.

Family members are upset because that was the second time Barnett injured the child while sleeping. When Aubrie was just one-month-old, police say he fell asleep on the infant and fractured her femur in two places. The Children’s Division made Barnett sign a contract stating he wouldn’t sleep with the child again, but that contract appears to have only been as good as the paper it was written on.

“Should have let him go, because it’s better somebody else have her than what end up happening, because that’s as bad as it gets, I’m telling you,” Calvin said.

A representative from the City Union Mission says they do have a no drug policy, but don’t do drug tests upon entry unless someone is clearly high. They also give random drug tests, but it’s not known at this time if Barnett was ever tested.

Barnett is currently in the custody of the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office and will be transferred to Jackson County to face his charge. His bond has been set at $1 million.