Arkansas boy, 6, found buried under floorboards at home died THREE MONTHS ago

Blu Rolland, whose corpse was found buried under the floorboards of his Arkansas home last week, died three months ago after being drowned in a toilet bowl by his mother’s live-in boyfriend, a new filing claims

The young boy whose corpse was found buried under the floorboards of his Arkansas home last week died three months ago after being drowned in a toilet bowl by his mother’s live-in boyfriend, a new affidavit has revealed.

Newly filed court documents revealed the disturbing discovery gleaned by officers investigating the death of Blu Rolland, whose body was found by police last Friday on what is said to have been the child’s sixth birthday.   

According to an arrest affidavit filed Tuesday in Lee County Circuit Court, the currently incarcerated mother of the youngster, 28-year-old Ashley Rolland, confided to cops that Blu was killed by her boyfriend Nathan Bridges.

The mother – who is seen with a black eye in her Saturday booking photo – told officers that Bridges, in a fit of rage, held her son’s head in a toilet bowl as ‘punishment’ for biting the man’s finger.

The boy’s age was not immediately clear: Arkansas State Police said he was six years old, but court documents say he was born December 16, 2017 – meaning he was found on his fifth birthday. The boy’s grandma, Karen Rolland, said the boy would have turned six last week.

According to the affidavit, Ashley Rolland told cops that her son Blu was killed by her Nathan Bridges. The mom – who is seen with a black eye in her Saturday booking photo – told officers that Bridges held her son’s head in a toilet bowl as ‘punishment’ for biting the man’s finger

Bridges, who is not cooperating with investigators, is currently being held on charges of murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and endangering welfare of a minor

Speaking to police after her arrest Saturday – a day after the grim discovery –  Ashley Rolland told police that Blu died September 9 after the alleged drowning. She faces charges of capital murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, endangering the welfare of a minor, and two counts of permitting child abuse. 

It was not immediately clear why she has a black eye in her booking photo. A jail representative at the St. Francis County Detention Center could not immediately be reached for comment.

Bridges, meanwhile – who faces the same charges as his lover except the ones alleging child abuse – declined to be interviewed, the affidavit states. 

According to cops, Rolland told investigators that Bridges also injured her surviving 6-year-old daughter during his alleged tirade last September. 

The injuries – identified by medical personnel as severe burns – were allegedly left on the youngster after Bridges also held her head under water ‘as punishment for her behavior issues,’ the filing further alleges.

In this case, however, officers wrote that the water was scolding hot, and that Bridges eventually released the girl before she could succumb like her brother. 

Police discovered the boy’s body under the floor of his mom’s home in Moro, a small community about 70 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee

Evidence that children lived at the home could be seen strewn around the backyard

He has been ordered to have no contact with Rolland’s surviving child, investigators wrote in another document filed Monday.   

The discovery comes after detectives aired beliefs that the fatal injuries sustained by Blu that led to his death were delivered well before their discovery under the floorboards of Bridges home in Moro, 85 miles east of Little Rock – with officials positing that the child had died as ‘long as three months ago.’

Cops were tipped off to the couple’s alleged misdeeds by he children’s paternal grandmother, Karen Rolland, the bombshell affidavit also revealed. 

According to cops, Rolland told investigators that Bridges also injured her surviving 6-year-old daughter during his alleged tirade last September. Police said they were investigating burns on the scalp of the six-year-old girl, seen left

Karen – whose son is the children’s father – called police after her son arrived to pick up the kids for a court-ordered visit, at which point Ashley Rolland brought out her daughter, who ‘had apparent injuries that had scabbed over on top of her head,’ police wrote.

The mother initially asserted that the wounds were not burns and that they were caused by an allergic reaction, the affidavit states – with Karen Rolland telling officers the girl ‘could barely even walk’ and that her clothes were soiled in urine.

Her first request, the grandma recalled, was for ‘water and something to eat.’ 

Heartbroken, Karen told police that she ‘told her that she was safe,’ while recalling the look on the youngster’s face as one of ‘sheer terror.’ 

Cops were tipped off to the couple’s alleged misdeeds by he children’s paternal grandmother, Karen Rolland, who called police after her son arrived to pick up the kids for a court-ordered visit only to find Blu missing and his sister badly burned and suffering from malnutrition

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The mother initially asserted that the wounds were not burns and that they were caused by an allergic reaction, the affidavit states – with Karen Rolland telling officers the girl ‘could barely even walk’ and that her clothes were soiled in urine. Her first request, the grandma recalled, was for ‘water and something to eat.’ She is now in the hospital in stable condition

The little girl’s hair had also reportedly been cut off, while she was said to suffering from malnutrition, cracked ribs, and several burn marks on her body, only some of which were recent. 

‘These injuries are presumed to be from her mother and the mother’s boyfriend,’ a family friend explained on a recently erected GoFundMe page. 

Blue, meanwhile, was noticeably absent. In an attempt to explain this, police wrote that her former daughter-in-law simply stated that the child ‘was not at the residence.’

After rushing her granddaughter to the hospital, Karen said that she contacted police ‘to report she had information that Blu was possibly deceased,’ the affidavit states.

When county deputies arrived, they were met by Ashley Rolland’s father, Timmy Childers, 62, who told them that his daughter admitted to him that the boy was dead inside the home.

Ashley Roland, 28, and Nathan Bridges, 33, are being held on charges of murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and endangering welfare of a minor 

Officers who entered the home would then find ‘newly nailed-down boards’ and ‘disturbed earth underneath’ on the floor of the home, the filing states – and  under the first layer of dirt, they found a child’s flip-flop, a red and blue blanket and ‘the pungent odor of decay.’

They quickly obtained a search warrant, and removed more flooring and dirt to discover ‘an unidentified mass believed to be a small human body wrapped in multiple layers of plastic bags.’ 

They then transferred the corpse to the Arkansas State Crime Lab, where it is currently being analyzed.

The director of the crime lab, Kermit Channell, said last week that the state medical examiner will release a cause and manner of death in the next 30 to 60 days.  

Ashley Rolland, meanwhile, gave officers a somewhat dubious account of who buried the body, with police writing  that she initially told them she had been in another room at the time of the alleged drowning.

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When county deputies arrived, they were met by Ashley Rolland’s father, Timmy Childers, 62, who told them that his daughter admitted to him that the boy was dead inside the home

The discovery comes after detectives aired beliefs that the fatal injuries sustained by Blu that led to his death were delivered well before their discovery under the floorboards of Bridges home in Moro, 85 miles east of Little Rock – with officials positing that the child had died as ‘long as three months ago’

She said that when she went into the bathroom after Bridges left it, she saw her son ‘struggling to breathe, and his body was limp.’

She then told officers that Bridges ‘cut a hole in their wooden floor, dug a hole in the ground, and buried [Blu] under the house,’ the affidavit says.  

However, Rebecca Fiting, whose relationship to Ashley Rolland was not immediately clear, told officers that Ashley had previously told her that ‘Blu had come out of the bathroom with his face/body swelling and foaming at the mouth before collapsing and dying.’ 

The apparent witness added that Ashley Rolland at the time insisted that ‘she did not know what to do and had buried Blu under the floorboards,’ according to the affidavit. 

Karen, meanwhile, said that she had known the children were living in an unstable environment, and that she also been trying to gain custody for over a year. 

Karen said that she had known the children were living in an unstable environment, and that she also been trying to gain custody of the kids for more than a year.

After paying a ‘ridiculous amount of money,’ she received a court order allowing her to see the children on weekends last week, a GoFundMe page for funeral and other costs started by family friend Anita Widby revealed. 

Court records show that she has since successfully filed a petition for guardianship of the girl, with a judge granting the emergency order on Wednesday. 

Authorities said they are investigating the burns on the scalp of the child – whose name was not provided due to her age. She is now in stable condition at a hospital in Memphis. Both Ashley Rolland and Bridges remain in custody.