A deeply disturbing crime was recently reported in Idaho involving the death of a 12-day-old infant. The accused parents, Brian Lemke and Allysen Armenta, have a documented history of child abuse, according to the Nampa Police Department.
Both have multiple prior convictions related to injuring children in Idaho. Several other children had previously been removed from their custody and placed in foster care due to unsafe and rather hazardous living conditions.
In the current case, police reportedly found a dead baby inside an extremely filthy trailer littered with cigarette butts and animal feces. Investigators primarily deduced that the baby’s mother accidentally rolled onto the newborn, causing the infant’s death.
Parents tried to pass off suffocated 12-day-old baby in ‘filthy’ trailer as SIDS, pretended newborn was found unconscious in bassinet: Cops https://t.co/41egzH8uMF
— Law & Crime (@lawcrimenews) January 1, 2026
Following the grim discovery, Brian told authorities that the baby had been found unconscious in a bassinet, a claim that aligned with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). He later went back on his word and admitted that Allysen’s actions led to the fatal incident.
For the unversed, SIDS translates to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. It is a phenomenon that results in the sudden and unexpected death of a baby younger than one year old. These deaths are typically caused during sleep.
In rare circumstances, even the most thorough medical investigation fail to identify the cause of a child’s death. In the Idaho crime case, however, things are totally different since both parents shifted blame to SIDS rather than accepting their own neglect and lack of responsibility.
More shockingly, the police discovered that Brian and Allysen sent text messages to one another after the child died, rather than calling 911 for help. One of the texts from the father read, “What did I do? I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened, but it’s my fault. Are they saying SIDS?”
According to The Mirror US, it was Brian who eventually called 911 on December 16 around 3:32 am. Officers were promptly dispatched to the crime scene.
After arriving at the couple’s property located on Idaho‘s Lone Star Road, cops first met and spoke to to Brian Lemke, who then claimed that the child had died inside the house.
Brian Lemke and Allysen Armenta are charged with felony injury to a child, failing to report a death and hiding evidence. The couple has prior convictions. https://t.co/ncCESavGNZ
— KREM 2 NEWS (@KREM2) January 1, 2026
While the infant’s corpse was found, the mother remained missing from the scene. They later found Allysen Armenta hiding in a camp trailer in the property’s backyard. It was in this dirty trailer, filled with trash, food remains, cigarettes and animal excrement, where the infant had died.
Allysen was immediately taken into custody, but without incident and on an unrelated out-of-county warrant. The investigation is still going on and because the parents have given conflicting accounts on how the baby was found, authorities are yet to ascertain the real reason behind the infant’s death.
Police discovered that the dead infant had been moved from the trailer to the house in an attempt to cover up the crime. Their statement read, “After further investigation by detectives, it was determined the infant passed away in a different location and was later moved into the house.”
Considering their longstanding history of child abuse and neglect back to 2017, the charges pressed against the couple are strong. In 2019, they had pleaded guilty to three counts of felony injury to a child after deputies spotted children residing in alarming situations.
Both parents were even sentenced to 180 days in jail for parole violations in these child abuse cases. As per local court details, they have now been placed with felony injury to a child, hiding evidence, failing to report or delaying reporting a death, resisting and obstruction.
In response to the horrific crime, Idaho Representative Dori Healey raised serious questions about gaps in the child welfare system at work. She said, “Situations like this raise serious and necessary questions about how our child welfare systems function and where improvements may be needed.”
