Arizona Couple Daniel And Lacey Rawlings Pleaded Guilty To Manslaughter And Child Abuse Charges

Daniel Rawlings and Lacey Rawlings pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Two of their children and their niece drowned after the couple took them for a joyride in a flooded creek. The judge has however have spared them from serving jail time as a result of their children’s testimony.

Fatal Joyride Led To The Death Of 3 Children

The Arizona couple is facing manslaughter charges after the drowning of three children during a joyride at a flooded creek. Daniel Rawlings and Lacey Rawlings even faced seven counts of child abuse after the death of the children. The incident dates back to 2019 when the couple visited Tonto Creek with seven children. The family had come together for Thanksgiving celebrations.

The Bar X Crossing, which is otherwise widely used, was flooded at that time due to heavy downpour. The authorities had put warning signs and barricades all over the place to warn the public. However, sources reveal that Rawlings ignored all the signs like many other people in the past.

Despite warnings and barricades, Rawlings drove the vehicle into the flooded creek, resulting in the sinking of the vehicle. The couple and four out of the seven children managed to escape. However, three children were unable to escape and got swept away due to the current. They swam across the safety buoys and eventually, drowned, leading to their death. Despite Daniel’s attempts to cross the river twice previously, the rushing water swept the vehicle away on his third attempt. A helicopter rescued the remaining children from the creek.

5-year-old Colby and 6-year-old Willa, along with their cousin 5-year-old cousin Austin died due to the fatal accident. The bodies of Colby and Austin were found two weeks following the incident towards the north of Roosevelt Lake.

Judge Grants Probation On Children’s Request

Since the incident occurred, the Rawlings have faced manslaughter charges. Daniel Rawlings pled guilty to manslaughter and seven counts of child abuse in December. Moreover, his wife Lacey also pled guilty to one count of child abuse. Their two children, 12-year-old Nelly and her 13-year-old brother Dallan requested the judge to be lenient in his judgment. They begged the judge to not sentence their parents to jail and allow them to come home.

The judge, hence, sentenced the couple to probation, while accusing them of failing their children. The judge mentioned that the Rawlings failed to protect their children and be the adults they promise to be. In addition, he mentioned that the children are having to carry the burden of their parents’ actions for no fault of their own. As sentenced by the court, Daniel And Lacey Rawlings received 60 months and 48 months of probation with community service respectively. Any violations in the same will land them in jail. If convicted, the couple would face mandatory prison terms in the trial scheduled in March at Gila County Superior Court.

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