Parents' bail set at $100,000 in death

In manslaughter case, Benton 2-year-old fatally got hold of .45-caliber handgun

Tabitha and Phillip Ashley, both of Benton
Tabitha and Phillip Ashley, both of Benton

A Saline County judge Wednesday set bail at $100,000 each for the parents charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of their 2-year-old child.

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Tabitha Ashley, 23, and Phillip Ashley, 27, both of Benton, were arrested Monday after police were called about 1:35 p.m. Nov. 17 to a shooting at the couple's residence at 812 Nelson Court.

Their son, Bladen, fatally shot himself, according to police. He was transported to Conway Regional Medical Center before being transported to Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, where he was pronounced dead later that day.

During the first court appearance of the Ashleys, District Judge Mike Robinson also ordered them to have no contact with anyone under the age of 18.

The Ashleys did not speak during Wednesday's hearing as they appeared on video from the Saline County jail.

Tabitha Ashley's mother, Chastity Drennon, and aunt, Joanna Coffman, appeared before Robinson to request that bail be set at an amount that would allow Tabitha Ashley to attend Bladen's funeral Friday.

After bail was set at $100,000, the family members again made a plea for a lower amount.

Under Arkansas law, manslaughter occurs when someone recklessly or negligently causes the death of another person. It's a felony punishable by a prison term of three to 10 years.

Tabitha and Phillip Ashley were also charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor regarding their 6-year-old daughter, who was in the house at the time of the shooting.

The Arkansas Department of Human Services took custody of the Ashleys' daughter last week under the state's Child Maltreatment Act, according to court records. A Saline County Circuit Court judge appointed the girl's grandparents as her guardians Friday on the condition that she not see her parents unless supervised.

A court affidavit filed by Benton police said Tabitha Ashley was in the bathroom when she heard a gunshot in the living room and then found her son on the floor, bleeding from a gunshot wound in his face. A .45-caliber handgun was next to him, the document said.

After the shooting, Tabitha Ashley tested positive for prescription painkillers and tranquilizers, as well as amphetamines, police detective Eli Fowlkes wrote in the affidavit. Police also found evidence on Ashley's phone that she was trying to illegally buy prescription painkillers, but Fowlkes wrote that "officers are unsure if Tabitha was under the influence of prescription medication the day of the shooting."

Court records show police obtained a search warrant to collect her prescription records from the Arkansas Prescription Monitoring Program.

The couple will appear in court at 1 p.m. Jan. 5 for their next appearance.

Information for this report was provided by Scott Carroll of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Metro on 11/26/2015

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