A Manderson, Wyoming, man and woman have been charged after the suspicious death of an infant in a case where investigators say a camper where the child lived was filthy, overheated, had no running water and was littered with human waste, animal feces and meth.
The investigation began just after 10 a.m. Monday, when agents with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation were notified of the suspicious, unattended death of an infant.
By the time Special Agent Anthony Giles arrived at Three Rivers Hospital in Basin, the baby's mother — 22-year-old Destynie Study — had already told investigators what she said happened that morning.
A newly filed affidavit in the case available Thursday says Destynie fed and changed the infant around 1:30 a.m. before putting the baby back to sleep in a crib inside the family's camper in Manderson.
She told investigators she woke around 9:45 a.m. and found the infant unresponsive.
She immediately grabbed the child, climbed into her father's vehicle and started driving toward Three Rivers Hospital, calling 911 along the way.
The affidavit says the baby lived in the camper with the mother, her father Travis Study, and another child who is just over a year old.
At the hospital, investigators said dirt covered Destynie's arms, legs and clothing, and what appeared to be lice eggs or significant dandruff near her scalp.
"An overwhelming smell of body odor, urine and feces was coming from her person and the room," Giles wrote.
Investigators also documented dirt beneath the infant's fingernails and that "the same odor was permeating from the deceased infant's body."
"The infant's diaper was completely saturated in urine," Giles wrote, along with a small amount of feces and a live, moving insect inside the diaper after it was removed.
5-Gallon Bucket Of Human Waste
Armed with a search warrant, DCI agents later searched the camper where the family had been living. Outside sat several black garbage bags investigators believed had recently been placed there.
When agents opened the door, they were hit with the same overwhelming odor of urine, feces and body odor they had encountered earlier at the hospital, wrote Giles.
Investigators described the camper as being in "complete disarray,” the affidavit says.
Old and moldy food, empty food containers and trash littered nearly every corner. Clothing, wrappers and garbage were piled throughout the sleeping area, the affidavit continues.
The bathroom emitted what investigators described as an extremely strong smell of feces.
The camper itself also was stifling hot.
Investigators measured the interior temperature at about 95 degrees with an air conditioner that didn't work.
There also was no running water connected to the camper, and the sewage system appeared to have been unusable for some time, the affidavit says. The shower and sinks showed signs they had not functioned for an extended period.
The affidavit says investigators also found dog feces and mouse droppings throughout the camper.
Inside the bathroom sat a 5-gallon bucket nearly full of human waste.
The toilet also contained human waste and appeared abandoned, investigators wrote, with evidence of insect infestation.
Warning Signs
The crib where Destynie told investigators the infant slept was damp and smelled strongly of urine.
Investigators found urine-soaked bedding, a soiled diaper beneath the mattress, and liquid pooled inside the crib's frame. When they lifted the crib, more foul-smelling liquid drained from its support structure, says the affidavit.
Fresh trash outside the camper allegedly discarded before law enforcement arrived contained baby food along with a comforter investigators believed was heavily soiled with urine and feces.
Court records note the conditions inside the camper had raised alarms months before the infant died.
The document outlines four separate contacts between the family, the Wyoming Department of Family Services and Manderson police dating back to early April.
On one visit, officials said they were denied entry while investigating concerns about the family's living conditions.
Another welfare check involved reports that Destynie had missed prenatal appointments during what investigators described as a high-risk pregnancy.
During another visit, a caseworker reported the family's Jeep smelled strongly of cat urine and was littered with debris.
By late May, DFS had received reports that the infant had lost 11% of its body weight and that Destynie had missed a medical appointment.
When caseworkers and officers returned to the property, investigators say they again were refused entry into the camper.
Travis told them to "get the f*** off his property and never come back," alleges the affidavit.
'Normal Grandpa Stuff'
Travis remained on speakerphone while investigators interviewed Destynie at the hospital.
When agents requested Destynie's cellphone to establish a timeline, he allegedly warned that if anyone with "a badge or a gun" came to his property, "it would be a bad day for that individual."
Both Travis and Destynie told investigators that Travis regularly cared for the children when Destynie left the residence. Travis reportedly described it as doing the "normal grandpa stuff."
The search of the camper also turned up drugs.
Investigators say they recovered more than 21 grams of suspected marijuana, marijuana paraphernalia and a glass pipe containing white crystalline residue.
A swab collected from inside the pipe tested presumptively positive for meth and was submitted to the Wyoming State Crime Lab for confirmation.
Criminal Charges Filed
Following the investigation, prosecutors filed criminal charges Wednesday in Big Horn County Circuit Court.
Travis Study, born in 1969, is charged with felony child endangerment alleging exposure to meth, along with misdemeanor counts of reckless endangering, child endangerment, possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana.
Destynie Study is charged with misdemeanor reckless endangering of a child and child endangerment. She pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
Big Horn County Attorney Marcia E. Bean filed a demand for a speedy trial the same day, and the court appointed counsel to represent Destynie. A pretrial conference is scheduled for Aug. 3.
The affidavit does not identify an official cause or manner of death for the infant, and the criminal complaint does not allege either defendant intentionally caused the child's death. The investigation is ongoing.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
