Oct 4, 2017
Two years after a baby girl died while under the care of her mother’s boyfriend, the Rapid City case was concluded Wednesday when the man was sentenced to four years in prison.
The sentencing came immediately after 28-year-old Kristopher Houchin, of Rapid City, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the death of 6-month-old L’Naya White.
Houchin said it was “extremely reckless” of him to have left the infant unrestrained and unattended on the couch for 10 minutes, which led to her falling off and hitting her head. This happened when he was watching the child while her mother – Houchin’s then-girlfriend – was at work.
The child had hydrocephalus, the excessive buildup of fluid in the brain. A forensic pathologist consulted by Houchin’s team said the medical condition played a part in the infant’s death, said defense attorney Betsey Harris.
But the forensic pathologist who conducted L’Naya’s autopsy for the Rapid City Police Department ruled that she died from shaken baby syndrome. This is a serious brain injury resulting from forcefully shaking an infant or toddler.
L’Naya’s mother found bruising on the infant’s face and mouth, which were not present when Brandi White last saw her daughter at home that morning, said state Assistant Attorney General Scott Roetzel. The child was taken to Rapid City Regional Hospital, where she died just past noon.
Houchin had taken meth the previous day and was upset while he was watching the baby, said Roetzel, who prosecuted the case. Texts found on Houchin’s phone reportedly showed him having a heated exchange with the mother of his two children, including threatening to kill her and her family.
This reflected Houchin's “anger issues,” Roetzel said before recommending a 10-year prison sentence, the maximum for second-degree manslaughter.
“A life is lost, a mother had to bury her child,” he told Judge Wally Eklund during the hourlong Pennington County hearing. Houchin was
originally charged with second-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence, but it was dismissed under his plea deal with the county state’s attorney’s office.
Reading from a prepared statement, White talked about her daughter now being free from physical pain but also lamented losing the chance to see her grow up.
The infant's death “deserves so much more” than 10 years in prison for Houchin, White said. But she also wanted to see the case resolved so that L’Naya can rest in peace.
“I’m so sorry,” Houchin wanted White to know when he was given a chance to speak. “There’s no excuse, there’s nothing I can do to get her to forgive me. … This is something I’m gonna carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Houchin’s lawyer argued for a suspended or probationary sentence, saying Houchin had already served 660 days at the Pennington County Jail and had suffered from not seeing his children.
“We honestly don’t know how it was, or why it was, that L’Naya fell off the couch,” Harris told the judge, adding it was one of those cases “not any of us can understand.”
Houchin needed rehabilitation, as well as treatment for his depression and new diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, Harris said. He had a history of wanting to harm himself, the lawyer said, and prison may not be able to provide him with the help he needs.
Eklund said he had sympathy for Houchin, who did not seem mentally or psychologically equipped to take care of an infant.
He sentenced Houchin to 10 years in prison, with six years suspended. Houchin will be given credit for the approximately 22 months he has served at the county jail.
He will be eligible for parole after serving half of the prison time, or two years, Harris told the Journal. He will be on probation till the 10 years are over.