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Manslaughter Charge Filed Against Father Of Burned Baby

Posted: 2:19 pm PDT June 27, 2008Updated: 11:42 am PDT June 28, 2008

The King County Prosecutor's Office has charged the father of a baby who died in a fire pit with second-degree manslaughter.

Alberto Rios, 38, told police he had been sleeping with his 7-month-old son, Diego, on his chest Saturday night on a bench next to the fire at his Federal Way home. Rios told police that when he awoke, the baby was not there. After searching for the child, the parents later found the boy in the fire pit.

The child was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Prosecutors said Rios's conduct is a "gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in the same situation" which they said meets the definition of second-degree manslaughter. Alberto Rios' Charging Documents

Court documents said Rios had held a party at his home Saturday and had consumed an unknown amount of alcohol before falling asleep with the boy outside. Rios said he had three to six beers the night of the boy's death, documents said.

The Medical Examiner's Office said that soot found in the boy's esophagus showed that the baby had been alive when he entered the fire pit. The boy's cause of death was smoke inhalation and burns over 100 percent of his body.

Rios is being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled for arraignment on July 9.

If convicted as charged, the sentence range is 21 to 27 months in prison.

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