BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A man who was arrested with a woman in the 2017 overdose death of an infant they were co-sleeping with in Brevard County has taken a plea deal, records show.
David Williams Chappele Jr., now 36, faced charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect, representing a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison. According to a plea offer filed Tuesday, Chappele has instead agreed to serve a two-year sentence followed by 13 years of supervised drug-offender probation for one count of manslaughter, a second-degree felony.
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office began investigating Chappele and Jessica Marie Strickland in September 2017 after responding to a home on Walnut Street in reference to an unresponsive 8-month-old, according to deputies. The child had been taken to a local hospital and was pronounced dead later in the night, investigators said.
Earlier that night, Chappele and Strickland had allegedly put a mattress on the living room floor to co-sleep with the infant, placing the child between them. Strickland called 911 after waking to find the infant unresponsive, deputies said.
The Brevard County medical examiner determined the child’s death was caused by an overdose of fentanyl and cocaine, deputies said, alleging the infant ingested cocaine residue from Strickland and fentanyl residue from patches that Chappele was wearing.
“While sleeping with the baby, the baby became in contact with the fentanyl that was in those patches. It was a level that was enough to kill him,” Deputy Tod Goodyear said. “We also found out with the cocaine toxicity that the mother was known to use cocaine, and while she was actively using cocaine was also caring for the child.”
[BACKGROUND: Arrests in infant’s overdose death]
Chappele was arrested with Strickland in May 2018, both accused of aggravated manslaughter of a child.
Records show Strickland in October 2022 began a 270-day sentence for that charge, with credit for 67 days served.
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