Weare Man Found Guilty Of Negligent Homicide Of His 1.5 Year-old Child

MANCHESTER, NH — Christian Cummings, 23, of Weare, faced negligent homicide in a jury trial that began this week in Hillsborough County Superior Court North.

Cummings was charged after an investigation into the death of Kamryn Cummings, his 18-month-old child, who was found dead and infested with lice in a Weare home in 2019. An autopsy by the Office Of The NH Chief Medical Examiner determined the toddler died from an untreated urinary tract infection.

Mikayla Cochran, 23, the mother of the child, also faces negligent homicide charges and is being tried separately.

Both parents were accused of neglecting Kamryn Cumming's care resulting in her death from urosepsis, dehydration, and/or an electrolyte imbalance. The infestation of lice also contributed to the death of Kamryn.

Weare Police, fire, and EMS responded to the Colby Road home in February 2019 and found the lifeless child on the floor, surrounded by squalor. The parents told police the child had been vomiting a few days before the death was discovered, and they decided not to take the child to the hospital when Kamryn stopped vomiting.

The jury heard testimony from several expert witnesses, some of which supported the defense theory that the death was possibly sudden infant death syndrome. Prosecutors brought expert witnesses that appeared to back up the claim the child died of neglect.

Prosecutors showed the jury an enlarged photo of Kamryn's face covered with bugs, "Under her neck, there was a brown substance," said Weare firefighter/paramedic Kristina Houde.

"A brown substance in her ears. The right side of her head was shaved, and it did appear there were bugs on her."

William Lewis a retired Weare Police Officer said in his testimony, "I remember entering Kamryn's room, and there was an immediate unpleasant aroma, worse than I had ever smelled. The room was a complete disaster. There were items scattered all over the floor. There was food. There were animals in the room. There were flies.”

A relative testified, "When the hat came off, I was horrified," he said. "I never knew lice could get that big."

It took jurors less than three hours to return a guilty verdict for negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of a child.

Cummings will be sentenced at a later date and faces 10 to 30 years in the New Hampshire State Prison. After the trial, he was transported to the Valley Street Jail, where he will remain until sentencing.

Cochran’s trial date was scheduled for December. However, court records indicate the date has been canceled, and no new date is available.

©Jeffrey Hastings www.frameofmindphoto.com/news