Man Suffocates Baby Over Gaming Marathon
An unfortunate accident involves smoking pot, an all-night Xbox gaming marathon, and a 7-month-old baby girl.
While many may disagree that time could be better spent reading a book or going outside, gaming with the kids is a great thing. That especially holds true with board games and playing various multiplayer titles on the Nintendo Wii and other consoles. But when you get all smoked up and fall asleep on top of your baby after playing video games all night, "family night" is taken a bit too far.
Apparently, that's what happened with 30-year-old Emanuel Lawrence from Sunrise, Florida. According to police reports, he allegedly smoked marijuana in the late afternoon and stayed up all night playing an unnamed Xbox video game, finally shutting down around 6 a.m. the next morning. He took a quick nap, fed the baby, and then fell asleep with her lying next to him on a queen-sized mattress. During the seven-hour stretch, he rolled over onto his baby daughter, suffocating her.
Police reports say that he awoke around 2:30 p.m. that day and noticed that he was lying on top of the baby; she was face-down on the mattress. After realizing that the baby was dead, he quickly moved the body to the crib in fear of being arrested. That didn't work however, as local officials arrested Lawrence on Thursday, charging the gamer father with aggravated manslaughter.
According to the Miami Herald, Lawrence is currently being held on $75,000 bail. In addition to his daughter, Lawrence lived with the child's mother, his 3-year-old daughter, and a man described as a "family friend" in a two-bedroom apartment. Are video games responsible for the death? No. What killed this child was pure negligence, however anti-gaming groups will definitely have a field day with this report.
Get more tech and gaming news by hitting me up on Twitter here.
- Groom Updates Facebook, Twitter at Altar
- Man Controls Prosthetic Arm With His Mind
- App Plays Mario Sounds to Match Your Movement
- Bing Maps Beta Now Available, Uses 3D
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii Looks Great in 1080p
- Parents Pull Girl's Tooth, Scares Cat With RC Car
- Xbox Live Marketplace Getting Pets
- Snoop Dogg Lends His Voice to GPS Navigation
- Roomba Saves Family From Poisonous Snake
- Universal to Release Blu-ray/DVD Combo Disc
- UK Street May Be Named After Lara Croft
- Google Launches Free Public DNS Service
- 2010 World Cup Will Be Screened in 3D
- Analysts Predict Influx of Apps in 2010
- DoD Pulls Software Collecting Data on Children
- Violent Games Still Marketed to Kids, Says FTC
- Report: Teen Internet Addicts Likely to Self-Harm
- Sony's PSPgo May Get External UMD Reader
- Latest Influence of Technology on Society News
- 07/29 – Amazon Announces New, Improved Wi-Fi Kindle
- 07/23 – PICTURED: Darth Vader Robbing Long Island Bank
- 07/20 – Really: Ex-VP Dick Cheney Probably Has No Pulse
- 07/16 – Beijing Gets a 40-foot Optimus Prime
- 07/16 – Google Maps Snaps Plane in LA Intersection
- All Influence of Technology on Society news
stupid people...
Sadly, it's not exactly rare to hear of a father or mother accidentally suffocating their baby because they were sleeping in the same bed as the kid. It was wrong of him to try and hide the truth but it's still very tragic accident. Poor guy.
however anti-gaming groups will definitely have a field day with this report.
Especially with the title you gave this article...WTF?
1di0t Err0r! Some people are just stupid. WTF will you smoke pot when you have a kid?!?!???
Interesting artical writer . . . you've chosen to focus on the Xbox as the cause of this problem . . yet somehow ignored the illegal substance he stayed up all night smoking . . .
So . . let me guess, you toke, but you don't play Xbox . . . Are all people from Tomshardware anti Microsoft? You germans disgust me. Go smoke a joint.
Some peoples might think it's a sad history... but I can't do anything else than laughing at idiocy, hypocrisy and young adult incompetence...
All the young girls searching for good guys... while dating idiots... HA!!!!
In almost all cases where a parent rolls over onto their child drugs or alcohol are involved. Statistically if you remove the drugs and alcohol you find the difference in death rates between sleeping in the bed and sleeping in the crib are negligible. I feel sorry for the man accidently killing his daughter.
Obviously by accident, when is the last time you saw someone smoking pot become violent. You need alcohol for that. Hmmmm.
Kinda ruined my day.
If the XBOX didn't exist, he wouldn't have done the all nighter, but instead looked for a job the next day,and this all could have been avoided!
Get rid of the games, I'd say! :-D
BTW, I'm doing this to get more than 20 thumbs down,if I can't gather 21 thumbs down, you all suck, and should smash your gaming systems with a hammer!
Weed didn't kill the baby. Games didn't kill the baby.
The dude rolled over her while unconscious. He shouldn't have fell asleep next to her like that, but at the same time, I doubt it was his intention. It didn't get absolutely horrible until the part where he tried to cover it up.
Is it really related to gaming?
What if he's such a hard sleeper that he wouldn't have waken up even if he hadn't smoked? What if he needs 2 alarms to wake up? (I know people who need special "ultra-loud" alarms to wake up cause 4 doesn't even work)
This article is biased and the author appears to have a lacking in reasoning/logic skills.
Kevin Parrish is only attempting to discredit cannabis users and doesn't realise that alcoholics do the same on a much more regular basis; they also do other bad things: like beat their wives and children, which cannabis, and tobacco users, are not known to do as a result of their habits.
One of his siblings was probably an addict and he's only seeking to "get back at" other users cause he's a twat.
"Man Suffocates Baby Over Gaming Marathon" That's a very, very misleading title. What does this have to do with video gaming? I mean, if he'd spent all day at the basketball court, it wouldn't be an article about video games. He was exhausted and using an illegal substance at the time; those should be blamed, not the video gaming.
I don't know why the focus is shifted to blaming someone in particular. Either way, the man lost his daughter and his freedom all in one fell swoop. I feel bad for the wife... I can't imagine what agony it must be to lose a child in such a way.
Tragic, the guy shouldn't do time for falling asleep on his child, his punishment is already greater than any prison, but the cover-up will probably land him in the clink.
Blame the pot and drugs.
He would've placed the baby in the crib had he not been high and stoned.
They should not blame anyone, I mean when I go drinking and drive home if I hit someone its going to be an accident, I should not be blamed for that; I wont mean to hit someone. I am sure he didnt mean suffocate his child after smoking pot and staying up all night, so its ok; hes hurt enough...
I do not understand people with that kind of thinking. The focus is shifted to blaming someone because a baby was killed; and we do not live in a magical land where bad things just happen and no one is to blame and nothing can be done to prevent them.
A parent has a legal and moral obligation to watch after their child, and doing stupid shit that leads to their death should not be tolerated by society.
This man did something stupid and preventable and now a child is dead. It does not matter that it was accidental suffocation, or an accidental car crash, or an accidental shooting; the end is the same.
This article is biased and the author appears to have a lacking in reasoning/logic skills.Kevin Parrish is only attempting to discredit cannabis users and doesn't realise that alcoholics do the same on a much more regular basis; they also do other bad things: like beat their wives and children, which cannabis, and tobacco users, are not known to do as a result of their habits.
I think you're biased towards weed and tobacco. While people who are high are not known to do such things, when those same people AREN'T high; they can be dangerous people. My sister dated a pot head. Granted, he didn't just do pot, but whenever he wasn't high, he'd beat the crap out of her because he was in withdrawels. Nothing that impairs your body is good for you. End of story.
This guy had his baby sleeping in the same bed as him? What a moron! You either need to have the baby in a crib or a separate bed of some sort.
Another misleading title. It's getting pretty bad.
They should not blame anyone, I mean when I go drinking and drive home if I hit someone its going to be an accident, I should not be blamed for that; I wont mean to hit someone. I am sure he didnt mean suffocate his child after smoking pot and staying up all night, so its ok; hes hurt enough...I do not understand people with that kind of thinking. The focus is shifted to blaming someone because a baby was killed; and we do not live in a magical land where bad things just happen and no one is to blame and nothing can be done to prevent them. A parent has a legal and moral obligation to watch after their child, and doing stupid shit that leads to their death should not be tolerated by society.This man did something stupid and preventable and now a child is dead. It does not matter that it was accidental suffocation, or an accidental car crash, or an accidental shooting; the end is the same.
Nope, that just means lack of responsibility. Don't u ever bother to read the warnings on products ?
Most ppl already understand them and abide by em, however he was irresponsible srsly.. smoking pot ? wtf ? isn't he a dad ? geez
Weed didn't kill the baby. Games didn't kill the baby.The dude rolled over her while unconscious.
Quite right, it was pure stupidity!
Wellll, judging by the title you chose (and have chosen in the past; anyone remember that story about this kid that got drunk after losing a soccer videogame and attacked his brother), could one argue that you, Mr. Parrish, belong to the said "groups"? FUCK YOU Sir, for your continued defamation of videogames AND your petty tricks of 'shock journalism'.
This guy had his baby sleeping in the same bed as him? What a moron! You either need to have the baby in a crib or a separate bed of some sort.
Not my fault if your sister dated a dumbass and your biased towards cannabis users because of that. Guess what, cannabis is only illegal cause the pharmaceutical industry would go bankrupt because of it. Go read a book shithead.
A baby is dead. A family is in deep pain. So what have we learned?
Never sleep next to a helpless baby or small kid when you're dead tired and sleepy.
When you have a family with 2 young toddlers, you should not be smoking pot at home and getting yourself exhausted when you're supposed to take care of the kids.
This guy had his baby sleeping in the same bed as him? What a moron! You either need to have the baby in a crib or a separate bed of some sort.
sorry techguy wrong person
I think you're biased towards weed and tobacco. While people who are high are not known to do such things, when those same people AREN'T high; they can be dangerous people. My sister dated a pot head. Granted, he didn't just do pot, but whenever he wasn't high, he'd beat the crap out of her because he was in withdrawels. Nothing that impairs your body is good for you. End of story.
Not my fault if your sister dated a dumbass and your biased towards cannabis users because of that. Emotion makes your thoughts irrational; ever heard of the scientific method moron?
Everything on this site besides the benchmark charts is complete shit. I don't even know why I bother clicking on the news links anymore.
Everything on this site besides the benchmark charts is complete shit.
Seconded.
Obviously they use good bait
Is there some written doctrine out there saying you shouldn't sleep in the same bed as your baby? I'm not sure if cribs have much affect on baby suffocation.
But weed impairs judgement, that's a fact.