Inset, top to bottom: Nathaniel Bridges (Facebook) and Blu Rolland (Arkansas State Police). Background: The home where Bridges killed Blu (WHBQ/YouTube).
A 34-year-old man in Arkansas will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after admitting to killing his girlfriend’s 5-year-old son, drowning the little boy in the toilet bowl because the child bit his finger, which he had deliberately stuck into the victim’s mouth.
State Circuit Court Judge Danny Glover ordered Nathan Bridges to serve a sentence of 60 years in an Arkansas state correctional facility for the 2022 slaying of young Blu Rolland, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Glover handed down the sentence after Bridges pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree battery in Blu’s death. Bridges was given 40 years on the murder charge and 20 years on the battery charge, to be served consecutively, meaning one after the other.
Blu’s mother, 30-year-old Ashley Rolland, was also arrested over her son’s death. She is awaiting trial on a spate of felony charges, including capital murder, permitting child abuse, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, child endangerment, and battery.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Rolland’s parents on Dec. 16 requested the assistance of deputies with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office in picking up their two grandchildren from Rolland’s house, which is located in the 200 block of Front Street. Rolland had brought out her daughter, but claimed Blu was not at the residence. The little girl had severe scabbing on the top of her head, which Rolland told her parents was just an “allergic reaction.”
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders made contact with Rolland’s father, who reported that his daughter told him Blu was “dead inside the home and described where he was located.”
“Deputies located where Blu was reported to be and found newly nailed-down boards,” the affidavit states. “Deputies removed the boards and found disturbed earth underneath. Deputies removed the top layer of the earth and found a child’s flip-flop shoes and a red and blue blanket. Removing the top layer of the earth released the pungent odor of decay.”
Deputies then called in the Arkansas State Police to take over the investigation and a search warrant was executed on the home. The floorboards were torn off and investigators found a small human body wrapped in multiple layers consisting of plastic bags and a blanket. The body was transferred to the Arkansas State Crime Lab and later confirmed to be Blu.
In an interview with investigators, Rolland stated that Blu died on Sept. 9, 2022, after upsetting Bridges by biting his finger.
“(Blu) had angered her boyfriend, Nathan Bridges, by biting his finger when Bridges stuck it in (Blu’s) mouth. Bridges took (Blu) to the bathroom and as punishment repeatedly placed (Blue’s) head in the water filled toilet until he drowned him,” the affidavit states. “Nathan cut a hole in their wooden floor, dug a hole in the ground, and buried (Blu) under the house. Rolland stated that she was in the living room while (Blu) was in the bathroom with Bridges. When Bridges exited the bathroom, Rolland entered the bathroom and saw (Blu) struggling to breath, and his body was limp.”
Rolland also told investigators that Bridges was responsible for her daughter’s injuries. She claimed that he “held (the girl’s) head and upper torso under hot water in the bathtub” as “punishment for her behavior issues.”
Rolland is currently scheduled to appear in court again on Sept. 17, 2024.
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