With new information in hand about the death of Rodney Lee Brown’s 3‑month-old daughter, Brown’s aunt is calling for his release from prison.
“He should be set free,” Audrey Adside said outside the courtroom following Brown’s quick appearance Thursday. “It’s been found he’s not responsible for his child’s death, which we knew all along.”
The new information comes from the revised death certificate filed by the office of the Chief Medical Examiner, first reported by the Valley Independent Sentinel last week. The cause of death was changed from “pending further study” to “sudden unexplained infant death.”
The manner of death is listed as “undetermined.”
Brown, 26, of Ansonia, was charged in September with one count of risk of injury to a child in connection with the baby’s death.
Police have not said what role, if any, he played in the death.
Police responded to an apartment on Jewett Street Sept. 10 for a medical emergency involving a baby. Police performed emergency medical care on the baby at the scene, but she was pronounced dead at Griffin Hospital later that night.
Police and prosecutors are still waiting for toxicology reports that could indicate more precisely how the baby died, and whether Brown was under the influence of drugs or alcohol that night.
Without the further results, Brown’s case was continued until Jan. 7.
Brown’s attorney, public defender Paul Eschuk, told Judge Karen Sequino Thursday that he will argue to get Brown’s $75,000 bond reduced “in light of the fact that we at least know the cause of death.”
Eschuk said in court Thursday he does not have the official autopsy results, just the death certificate.
Sharing a Bed
The death certificate also indicated that Alayziah Brown was sharing a bed with an adult, a factor that contributed to her death, but was not the official cause.
On Thursday, Brown’s uncle, Roger Adside, told the Valley Independent Sentinel that he was the one who told Brown to keep Alayziah in the bed with him.
Roger Adside said about a week before the baby’s death, he visited Brown’s apartment and became concerned with a doorway in the baby’s bedroom. The doorway didn’t have a proper lock, Roger Adside said, and led to a storage area that had access to the outside of the building.
“I told Rodney not to leave the baby in the room,” Roger Adside said. “I said ‘You don’t know who could come into your house.’”
Roger Adside said Brown sometimes had seizures, but he didn’t believe Brown had a seizure the night of his daughter’s death.
When asked whether Brown might have been drinking that night, Roger Adside said “When they’re at home with that baby, he’s not drinking.”
“I don’t think Rodney hurt the baby,” Roger Adside said.
Other Charges
But Brown had previously been arrested for an incident involving the baby and the baby’s mother.
Shelton police arrested Brown on Aug. 1 after a dispute with the baby’s mother at a Canal Street home.
Brown allegedly threw a case of CDs at the woman while she held Alayziah in her arms, Shelton Detective Ben Trabka said in September.
In that incident, Brown was charged with risk of injury to a child and disorderly conduct.
Brown has been incarcerated since his arrest, and has since been charged with third-degree assault and second-degree breach of peace for a separate incident that occurred in July.
The baby’s mother, Kristi Fitzgerald, has also been charged with third-degree assault and second-degree breach of peace for the incident. She has entered a not-guilty plea, according to court documents.
Police said the two assaulted a woman at the gas station in Shelton after Brown’s car was cut off by the car she was a passenger in.
A rift
Fitzgerald, like Audrey Adside, has attended all Brown’s court appearances since his September arrest, but has declined comment when asked by reporters.
But statements made in court by her supporters and a short obituary for the baby released in September point fingers at Brown.
At one court appearance, a family friend loudly muttered “baby killer” when Brown was escorted out of the courtroom.
And in the obituary, the family urged members of the community to attend a domestic violence candlelight vigil and asked for donations in lieu of flowers be made to a local domestic violence program.
“Domestic violence steals the lives of so many innocent children and many others who live but have lost their hope, their belief in themselves and the simple joys of life,” the statement said.
But Brown’s aunt and uncle said Brown loved the baby.
“I know he’s hurting,” Roger Adside said.
“He loved Alayziah very much,” Audrey Adside said. “It’s very sad.”
