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Two arrested after one-year-old dies after left unsupervised, 2 other children taken from home

Posted at 5:16 PM, Dec 11, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-11 18:16:34-05

By Annie Johnson 

BILOXI, MS (WLOX) - Biloxi deputies arrested 27-year-old Thomas Cannette and 27-year-old Candace Lopresto on 3 counts of felony Child Neglect Tuesday after a one-year-old boy died.

Harrison County sheriff’s investigators and deputies visited the home on December 3, 2018 on reports of an unresponsive child. AMR arrived at the home and transported the child to Merritt Health where the one-year-old was pronounced dead.

During an investigation, deputies discovered the boy was unsupervised for awhile and was eventually found behind a sofa in the home by Cannette and Lopresto.

The home was described as being in “deplorable conditions”, and investigators notified the Department of Human Services because there were two other children in the home, a 2-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl. Investigators say there were obvious signs of abuse and neglect on the other two kids, as well. DHS took custody of the kids and brought them to a local hospital for treatment.

The deceased child and the 2-year-old boy was Canette’s.

The 3-year-old girl was Lopresto’s.

Deputies arrested Cannette and Lopresto after they found drug paraphernalia in the home after performing a search warrant. They were transported to the Harrison County Adult Detention Center and booked them on misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia charges while waiting for the results from the medical examines on the two other children.

Officials discovered both children had injuries from abuse after they were seen by a doctor.

After an autopsy was done, the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Jackson told investigators that there were obvious signs of abuse on the deceased one-year-old.

The cause of death was ruled as asphyxiation. The child died after he became trapped behind the sofa.

Cannette and Lopresto were served the felony child abuse charges while they were in the Harrison County Adult Detention Center, where they were being held on the drug paraphernalia charges.

Bond was set at $750,000 each.

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