Couple arrested after 3-month-old baby dies & 'filthy, bloodied toddler tests positive for narcotics'

A FLORIDA man and woman were arrested months after an infant in their care died and another toddler tested positive for narcotics.

Cheyanne Bury Schilling, 24, and Johnathon Lopez, 25, were each hit with a felony charge for child neglect with great bodily harm Monday and both are being held in the Columbia County Jail in lieu of a $25,000 bond, records show.


The long investigation leading to their arrest began Jan 8, when the three-month-old infant was pronounced dead at a Lake City hospital.

At the same time, an ambulance took a combative Bury Schilling to the hospital and sedated her after she allegedly made suicidal statements to medical workers, local reports said.

Bury Schilling was placed under involuntary institutionalization for mental health examination under Florida’s Baker Act.

A redacted arrest warrant obtained by First Coast News claims a doctor then observed Bury Schilling showing signs of illegal drug use, including track marks and burns on her fingers.

Hospital staff reportedly called deputies with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office to the home, who found a toddler with blood covering his face wearing only a T-shirt and diaper.

The couple, who lived in a trailer, led a life of squalor with a burn pile for trash and other debris, the outlet reported.

The toddler tested positive for narcotics March 2, after the Florida Department of Children and Families took hair follicle samples for testing, First Coast News reported.

Cops allege that Bury Schilling, who also tested positive for narcotics, was in violation of felony probation in nearby Orange County – where records show she also has a red-light ticket in collections from 2016.

Investigators told WJXT it took months to get the arrest warrant because cops had to wait for both the infant’s autopsy report and the toddler’s toxicology reports.

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