St. Cloud Father Sentenced to Probation for Infant Son’s Accidental Death

(KNSI) – A St. Cloud man was sentenced on Wednesday for accidentally smothering his seven-month-old son nearly four years ago.

According to the criminal complaint, just before 3:30 a.m. on September 22nd, 2021, officers were called to a home on the 1700 block of Roosevelt Road for a child who was not breathing. Investigators spoke to the father, Joshua Alan Cox, who was caring for the child. He said he went to bed with the baby and another one of his kids about 11:30 p.m. His wife was at work and said she spoke to her husband around 10:00 that night and could tell he had been drinking.

She came home several hours later and found her son face down on the bed with Cox’s head on the baby’s back. Prosecutors say a blood sample taken from Cox about five hours later showed a blood alcohol concentration of .128. Officers say during the investigation, several bottles of Fireball and other forms of alcohol were found all over the house.

The Medical Examiner determined the child died of positional asphyxia due to unsafe sleeping conditions and ruled out any other possible cause of death.

In July 2024, Cox was charged in Stearns County District Court with two felony counts of second-degree manslaughter.

In April, the 37-year-old pleaded guilty to one of the charges with the agreement calling for the other to be dismissed.

During the sentencing hearing on Wednesday, July 2nd, Cox’s attorney, Jason Migala, argued for a downward departure and a conviction as a gross misdemeanor instead of a felony. Migala cited his client’s lack of criminal intent, no priors on his record, and stated that causing the death of his child has already brought him a lifelong consequence.

Prosecutor Chelsa Beaver argued that if the crime was intentional, he would have been charged with murder, and nothing showed this case was less severe than others in the state. She pointed to incidents in Carver and Hennepin County in recent years where an intoxicated father went to bed with their young children, who also died from asphyxiation, and they also received felony convictions.

KNSI News was in the courtroom as Cox became emotional while reading a letter to Judge Wang before the sentence was handed down. In it, Cox apologized to his wife and three other children for the pain he had caused. He also admitted he was an alcoholic and took ownership for causing his child’s death. He said his son was the “sweetest boy” and had a “great temperament.”

After he was done speaking, Judge Wang sentenced Cox according to the plea agreement, which called for a felony conviction on the manslaughter charge, along with a five-year stay of imposition, meaning he would not go to prison unless he violated the terms of his five-year probation period. Cox must also pay a $50 fine and continue any recommendations for drug counseling and treatment and surrender his firearms.

Judge Wang called it a “tough case” for all involved.

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