An Arkansas mother whose face was badly bruised in her mugshot has been sentenced to 40 years in connection with the death of her five-year-old son, whose body was found beneath the floorboards of their home.
Ashley Rolland, 30, pleaded guilty to two counts of permitting the abuse of a minor on Aug. 8.
In December 2022, the body of their son, Blu Rolland, was discovered beneath the floorboards of the family home in the small town of Moro, on what would have been the boy’s sixth birthday.
Blu is believed to have been murdered three months before his body was found.
An Arkansas mother whose face was badly bruised in her mugshot has been sentenced to 40 years in connection with the death of her five-year-old son, whose body was found beneath the floorboards of their home.
Blu is believed to have been murdered three months before his body was found.
Rolland’s boyfriend, Nathan Bridges, 34, killed Blu after the five-year-old boy bit his finger.
Bridges did so by savagely shoving the helpless boy’s head into a “toilet filled with water until he drowned,” according to Rolland’s affidavit.
Rolland told investigators she remained in the living room while her boyfriend was in the bathroom with their son.
When Bridges emerged from the bathroom, she ‘went into the bathroom and saw (Blu) struggling to breathe, and his body was limp.’
Bridges then ‘cut a hole in the wooden floor, dug a hole in the ground and buried (Blu) under the house.’
Rolland’s boyfriend, Nathan Bridges, 34, killed Blu after the five-year-old boy bit his finger.
In December 2022, the body of her son, Blu Rolland, was discovered beneath the floorboards of their family home in the small town of Moro.
On December 16, 2022, Rolland’s parents visited the home to pick up their grandchildren.
Rolland left the house with his daughter, but told his parents that Blu was not home.
The grandparents noticed severe crusting on the top of the girl’s head, which Ashley dismissed as an “allergic reaction,” according to a probable cause affidavit.
At that time, the grandparents contacted the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for assistance.
When first responders arrived, they were greeted by Rolland’s father, who told them that his daughter had informed him that Blu was “dead inside the house.”
Agents located the place where Blu was supposedly buried and “found freshly nailed boards”
Officers then located the spot where Blu was reported buried and “found freshly nailed boards,” the affidavit states.
When they removed the boards, they “found disturbed earth underneath.” After sifting through the top layer of earth, the officers “found a pair of children’s flip-flops” and a “red and blue blanket.”
‘When the top layer of soil was removed, the penetrating smell of decomposition was released.’
Following this discovery, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office called in the Arkansas State Police to complete the investigation.
Ashley Rolland, 30, pleaded guilty to two counts of permitting the abuse of a minor. Last month, Bridges pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and assault.
Detectives soon found a small human body wrapped in several layers of plastic bags and a blanket. The Arkansas State Crime Lab later confirmed the body was that of Blu.
Police arrested Bridges and Rolland, who was booked into St. Francis County Jail, where she appeared with a black eye and bruises on her face.
Authorities also found that Roland’s six-year-old daughter had signs of injuries, saying she had what appeared to be burns on her scalp, as well as other signs of abuse.
The 30-year-old mother has said Bridges is to blame for her daughter’s injuries.
In her affidavit, Rolland claimed her boyfriend held “the girl’s head and upper torso under hot water in the bathtub” as “punishment for her behavioral issues.”
Blu’s mother originally faced a capital murder charge, but her attorneys argued that she “was simply present” in the home when Bridges killed the boy.
Blu’s mother originally faced a capital murder charge, but her attorneys argued that she “was simply present” in the home when Bridges killed the boy.
On August 8, he pleaded guilty to two counts of permitting the abuse of a minor in Lee County Circuit Court.
Last month, Bridges pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and assault.
He was sentenced to 60 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
