After baby found dead in apartment, Arkansas couple charged

Jeff High, 55, (left) and Dianna O'Bryan, 57, both of Searcy
Jeff High, 55, (left) and Dianna O'Bryan, 57, both of Searcy

A Searcy couple faces charges of endangering the welfare of a child after authorities found a 4-month-old child deceased in the couple's apartment, said Sgt. Steve Hernandez, a spokesman for the Searcy Police Department.

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Police were called to the Briarwood Apartments at 2103 West Beebe Capps Expressway in western Searcy at 11 a.m. Saturday to check on the welfare of a child. When officers entered the apartment, Jeff High, 55, who was lying on a couch, told them, "We have a dead baby."

High pointed to a "disoriented female" on a couch, Hernandez said.

Police said the woman, Dianna O'Bryan, 57, who is High's wife, was "concealing the child" under her arm.

High and O'Bryan told police they picked up the baby from the mother in Odessa, Texas, on Thursday, Hernandez said.

O'Bryan is the aunt of the infant's mother, Hernandez said. High and O'Bryan are married, but O'Bryan has not changed her name, he said.

Authorities pronounced the baby dead at the scene, Hernandez said. Police did not identify the sex of the baby. The body was sent to the state Crime Laboratory in Little Rock for autopsy.

High and O'Bryan were each charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor with conduct creating risk of death or serious physical injury.

Hernandez said the offense is a Class D felony.

Both are in the White County jail in Searcy with bail set at $10,000 for each. The two will have hearings in White County Circuit Court on Aug. 2.

Additional charges against the two are pending results from the Crime Lab, Hernandez said.

It could take up a week before those results are received, he said.

Arkansas Department of Human Services spokesman Amy Webb said the department will investigate the case to determine whether there was maltreatment once law enforcement officials make a request. She said prosecutors will conduct a criminal investigation.

She said she could not comment on specific cases, nor whether High or O'Bryan had been investigated by the department before.

Webb said she has not received information about the deceased infant Tuesday.

The White County town of 23,700 was shocked 2½ years ago when 2-year-old Malik Drummond was reported missing. His father, Jeffery Clifton, 23, of Searcy, was later arrested and led authorities to Malik's body in rural Jackson County.

Clifton pleaded no contest in May to second-degree murder and abuse of a corpse. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Information for this article was contributed by Brandon Riddle of the Arkansas Online.

State Desk on 06/29/2016

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