Mom in Manchester child death case was stressed by sleeplessness, affidavit says

May 11—A woman who is charged in the death of her 3-year-old son in Manchester was feeling overwhelming stress over trying to care for him alone — especially when he would stay awake at night and prevent her from sleeping — and she admitted to hitting him on several occasions.

That information comes from a Manchester police detective's 23-page affidavit, which quotes extensively from text messages by the woman, Alesha Cain, 30, and from statements she made in interviews with police. She was arrested Friday.

Cain told police after reporting the boy's death in a 911 call at 2:44 a.m. Nov. 26 — Thanksgiving morning — that she was asleep in the other room at their Oakland Street apartment in Manchester when she heard a loud bang, found the boy crying, and yelled at him, according to the affidavit, by Manchester police Detective Jason Pontz. But she added that she put her son back to bed and he went to sleep, according to the detective.

She suggested that the boy might have been injured in a fall, possibly after climbing to a bunk above the one where he slept, the detective reported.

Cain said in a recorded conversation with a police sergeant that the boy had climbed to the upper bunk and fallen twice the day before his death but was fine, according to the detective.

CHILD'S DEATH

DEFENDANT: Alesha Cain, 30, who lived in Manchester when her son died in November but later moved to West Hartford.

CHARGES: First-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault, risk of injury to a child, and cruelty to persons.

STATUS: Held on $650,000 bond at the York Correctional Institution in East Lyme; due in Manchester Superior Court on June 7.

Pontz expressed skepticism that a fall from the top bunk caused the boy's death.

He reported that the top bunk mattress was 56 inches — 4 feet, 8 inches — above the floor and was surrounded by wooden rails, except at the permanently attached ladder. The flooring was vinyl laminate, and there was a small, thin rectangular rug, but there were no obstructions such as toys in the area below the beds, he continued.

Based on items that were found stacked neatly on the upper bunk "it did not appear plausible that anyone had been on this top bunk," Pontz wrote.

Dr. Gregory A. Vincent, an associate state medical examiner, concluded that the boy died of blunt injuries to the head and that his death was caused by another person, according to the detective.

Prosecutor Justin J. Blain acknowledged during Cain's arraignment Monday in Vernon Superior Court that Cain has no criminal record. But he cited the more than two full pages of Pontz's affidavit that recite the description of the boy's injuries from the autopsy report. Most were bruises and scrapes on various parts of his body.

The prosecutor also said Cain's text messages showed that she couldn't wait for the boy to be gone. The prosecutor said there is a possibility that the charges could be increased.

The current charges against Cain include first-degree manslaughter and first-degree assault, each under provisions dealing with extreme recklessness. After first-degree manslaughter, the next most serious homicide charge in Connecticut law is murder, which requires proof of intent to kill.

Judge Hope C. Seeley on Monday left Cain's bond at the $650,000 set by the judge who signed the arrest warrant.

Pontz reported that state Department of Children and Families records indicate Cain was abusing PCP, cocaine, and heroin while she was pregnant with the boy — and that he showed signs of withdrawal at birth.

He was sent to live with his grandmother in North Carolina for a time but was returned to his mother last June, the detective reported. The boy was scheduled to go back to live with his grandmother in January.

The detective quoted Cain as saying in one text message, "I honestly wish I didn't have" the boy, adding in another message, "But once the devil is gone. We will be good."

For updates on Glastonbury, and recent crime and courts coverage in North-Central Connecticut, follow Alex Wood on Twitter: @AlexWoodJI1, Facebook: Alex Wood, and Instagram: @AlexWoodJI.