The girl’s mother, Andrea Long, arrived home on Tuesday, Oct. 31, to find her husband Jeffrey Long, 39, dead and their 14-week-old daughter Aubree unresponsive, according to Baldwin Police Chief Darren Krueger.
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner had not determine the baby girl’s cause of death after a preliminary autopsy. The cause will be known after microscopic testing and a toxicology exam, Krueger said. Initial reports that the girl had a gunshot wound were inaccurate.
Krueger said police determined that Long committed suicide. He also said that the bereaved mother “has a great support team” surrounding her.
Investigators are looking into what Long was doing on Oct. 31. Officers are looking to determine how much time Long spent in the home.
Interviews with neighbors did not surface any helpful hints.
Dyllon Johnson, 18, witnessed the mother coming out of her home.
Kaden Quinnell, 18, also saw the bereaved mother.
“She was just really distraught,” Quinnell said. “She was really worried about her baby and she was kind of shocked.”
Neighbors were shocked to hear the news on an otherwise quiet street.
“You live in a small town like this ... it’s just like, you don’t think anything like that could happen,” Quinnell said. “Until it does.”
The mother broke her silence on Friday, saying that she believes that her husband is innocent.
Long said that her husband went to sleep in the same bed as the baby. She believes the dad, who she describes as a gentle giant, rolled over on the baby as he slept or that the child was caught in the sheets or a pillow.
“They have this incredible bond, and he just didn’t want her to be alone. He needed to be with his baby,” Long said.
The grief-stricken mom said that her husband was a good man who loved his baby girl.
“And she was a great little girl, even for the short time that I got to be her mom,” Long said.
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