Richard Gamache Jr., 24, and Cheyenne Cook, 19, both of House Springs, have been charged in connection with the death of a 2-year-old girl, authorities report.
Cook is the girl’s mother, and Gamache is the mother’s boyfriend, authorities said.
Authorities have not named the youngster, but she died May 19, three days after the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office got a call that she was having seizures at a home in the 3800 block of Dorchester Court in House Springs, the report said.
Soon after deputies arrived on the scene, they began “an investigation into child abuse,” according to the report. “There were obvious signs of trauma to the child.”
The child was taken to Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, where she died, the report said.
“According to a written statement from the Sheriff’s Office, detectives learned during the investigation that Gamache allegedly “performed numerous wrestling moves” on the girl, including “a Batista bomb,” a move some professional wrestlers perform by lifting an opponent in the air and slamming him down, usually back first.
Authorities believe that wrestling move is “connected to (the girl’s) injuries and eventual death,” the report said.
The medical examiner found that the girl “died from a closed-head injury, homicide,” the probable-cause statement said.
Detectives allegedly recovered “digital data documenting the abuse” that Gamache and Cook shared, along with “communications related to concealing the signs of abuse,” according to the report.
“This child was essentially tortured,” Sheriff Dave Marshak alleged in the written statement.
“There was continued abuse by the boyfriend over time and complacency by Cheyenne Cook related to intervention and/or medical assistance,” the report alleged.
Authorities said there were “bruises of various sizes and colors covering (the girl’s) body,” the probable-cause statement said.
“Text messages were located documenting conversations between Cheyenne and Richard where Richard admitted to causing the bruising on (the girl),” the statement said.
In one of his text messages, Gamache allegedly admitted that he “plays too rough with the victim,” and went on to say, “It’s insane how rough I am with her,” the statement said.
“Cheyenne offered to cover the bruising with makeup, and Cheyenne continued to allow Richard to care for her child without Cheyenne present,” the report said. “Cheyenne said she received a photo from Richard via text on May 13 where the girl had bruises to the side of her face and ear. Cheyenne refused to allow anyone else to watch (her daughter) due to believing if someone else saw the bruising, she would lose her children and her relationship with Richard would end.”
Cook told authorities she and her daughter had begun living with Gamache six days before the alleged abuse on May 16, the report said.
She said that the incident occurred while she was at work and Gamache was caring for her daughter.
Cook also said she had previously witnessed Gamache perform wrestling moves on her daughter, according to the report.
Gamache told authorities “it was possible the victim may have sustained some type of head injury while performing the wrestling moves, advising the victim may have struck her head on a concrete wall near his bed,” the probable-cause statement said.
On May 17, before the child died, the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Gamache with abuse or neglect of a child, a class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.
Today (May 23), however, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office amended the charge against Gamache, and he is now charged with abuse of a child, a class A felony that is punishable by 10 to 30 years or life in prison, court records show.
Cook has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail.
Both Gamache and Cook were being held today in the Jefferson County Jail, Gamache on a $500,000 cash-only bond and Cook on a $2,500 cash-only bond.