Autopsy: 6-month-old Fayetteville girl weighed 5.5 pounds at time of death

Brianna Nelson, 26, and Joshua Gonzalez, 25, were arrested Wednesday and charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of their daughter, Solana Gonzalez, who was found unresponsive in their apartment on Jan. 29.

According to an autopsy report, Solana was sleeping on a couch with Nelson, who reported that her daughter had excess oral secretions and abnormal breathing the night before she was found unresponsive.

Nelson told police she had been breastfeeding her daughter in addition to giving her formula and baby food.

Authorities said one empty container of baby food was found on the kitchen counter in the apartment and no empty containers were found in the trash. Several unopened jars of baby oatmeal were found in a cupboard but no stored milk or formula were found in the residence, the report says.

The medical examiner stated that Solana weighed 0.6 kilograms less than her reported weight when she had last seen a doctor at 2 months of age and was in the fifth percentile for weight for her age and gender.

The autopsy found that the infant was severely malnourished, and the medical examiner said he believed the death was a homicide.

Nelson and Gonzalez are scheduled to appear in court Friday morning and were being held under $50,000 unsecured bonds.