Joshua Riley and Roshonda Hagens (Green County Jail).
A Missouri couple is accused of endangering their 5-month-old child, resulting in his death, and then Googling what to do next — with searches that included inquiries on “shaken baby syndrome,” lawyers, and what countries “expedite,” according to cops.
“How do I know if my baby is OK after a fall?” wrote Roshonda Hagens, 34, in one of the alleged Google searches after her child”s death in December 2022, according to a probable cause statement filed by the Springfield Police Department.
“How do I know if my child’s head injury is serious?” Joshua Riley, 39, wrote, according to police. “What does it mean when your poop is green?” he also allegedly asked.
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Investigators allegedly found the searches while reviewing the couples’ phones and digital evidence. “Joshua was observed conducting several searches about RSV before searching ‘Shaken baby syndrome,’ information about lawyers, if a passport was needed to fly to Cuba, what countries did not ‘expedite,’ and if your location was still provided if ‘samsara’ logs were not certified,” the probable cause statement says.
Hagens and Riley are both charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child relate to the death of a child, according to jail records. Hagens allegedly brought their 5-month-old to a local hospital on Dec. 5, 2022, as he was unresponsive and not breathing. Medical staff resuscitated him and placed him on life support, but the child died days later.
An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was a “closed head injury,” with the manner being homicide. “In addition to new injuries, older injuries were present,” the probable cause statement says. “This included rib fractures that were in different stages of healing.”
Cops believe the child suffered injuries on at least two separate occasions that would have required medical attention. The injury causing his death is believed to have occurred “a short time before” he went into medical distress and had to be transported to Mercy Hospital in Springfield, according to police.
In their request for an arrest warrant, Green County prosecutors accused Hagens of making “numerous Google searches” on her phone, along with other questionable statements. The searches included questions such as, “How do I know if baby is OK after falling off bed?” and texts were also allegedly found where Riley told Hagens that their child “fell out the bed.”
The child’s autopsy revealed brain bleeds, hemorrhages in both of his eyes, a brain injury, rib fractures, and “significant bruising on all sides of his head,” according to police and prosecutors.
Hagens and Riley both allegedly made false statements to police when being interviewed about the child’s death, including the couple’s whereabouts before the alleged incident.
The couple allegedly traveled from Illinois to several different states across the country from Dec. 2-5, 2022, while Riley was working as a truck driver. Cops believe the child died sometime while they were eating at a truck stop in Strafford, Missouri.
“Both defendants were on surveillance video at TA Truck Service … eating for approximately 43 minutes,” prosecutors alleged in the arrest warrant filing.
“The victim was not present with them and was not checked on during those 43 minutes. Later that day, Joshua Riley dropped Roshonda Hagens and [the child] off at Mercy Hospital. When Roshonda arrived she calmly stated that her baby needed help.”
