Father Who Left 9-Day-Old Son Propped Up With a Bottle While He Slept Is Sentenced — But Will Avoid Prison

A 20-year-old Minnesota father has been sentenced in the death of his 9-day-old son after leaving the newborn propped up with a bottle during an overnight feeding. Despite being convicted of second-degree manslaughter, Kylen George Johnson Allen will not immediately serve a prison sentence. Instead, a judge ordered him to spend 180 days in a workhouse and complete five years of supervised probation.

The tragedy happened on November 1, 2025, at a home on Golden Valley Road in Minneapolis. According to a probable cause affidavit, emergency responders were called after the newborn was found gasping and unconscious. By the time officers arrived, the baby had been placed in an ambulance and was being taken to a hospital. Medical personnel reported that the infant arrived in full cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead. Doctors also found that formula or breast milk had to be suctioned from the baby’s mouth and throat.

At first, Allen reportedly told investigators that he had left his son with a neighbor while he went to run an errand. He claimed that when he returned, he noticed a mark on the baby’s lip and that the child was breathing unusually slowly. However, surveillance footage from outside the home contradicted his account. Investigators said the video showed that the baby had not been left with a neighbor. When confronted with the footage, Allen eventually admitted that he had lied.

According to the affidavit, Allen then described what happened during a feeding around 3 a.m. He admitted to placing the newborn in a U-shaped neck pillow, propping a bottle for him and wrapping a towel around the baby’s head to keep the bottle in position. Allen said he then went to sleep in another room for several hours. When he returned, he found the infant face down in the pillow, with a red mark on his face. He reported that the baby was breathing abnormally and called 911.

The medical examiner classified the cause of death as undetermined, but could not rule out positional asphyxiation — a potentially fatal condition in which a person’s position interferes with breathing. The finding was consistent with the circumstances described by Allen, although the medical examiner did not establish that as the definitive cause of death. Investigators also said the baby’s mother initially gave them an inaccurate account and later admitted that Allen had told her what to say.

On Tuesday, November 3, 2026, Hennepin County District Judge Marta M. Chou sentenced Allen to four years in prison but stayed that sentence for five years. Instead, he must serve 180 days at the Hennepin County workhouse, followed by five years of supervised probation. The sentence came after his conviction on one count of second-degree manslaughter. The case has renewed attention to the dangers of propping bottles for newborns and leaving infants unattended during feeding. For a baby only nine days old, the responsibility for safe feeding and constant supervision rests entirely with the adults caring for him.

Source: Law&Crime