Pair facing charges in toddler death

BROOKINGS, S.D. (KJJQ) – A three-year-old girl is dead and two Brookings residents are facing charges.

Brookings County States Attorney Dan Nelson says 25-year-old Renae Fayant and 27-year-old  Robert Price, Jr. have both indicted by a Brookings County Grand Jury on alternate counts of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter as well as abuse or cruelty to a minor under age 7.

Nelson says the three-year-old niece of Fayant, under her care for about  two years, had been living in terrible conditions. An ambulance was called to the 900 block of Seventh Street shortly before 4 o’clock Wednesday afternoon for an unresponsive child.

Nelson says an autopsy was conducted on the girl Thursday.

Brookings Police Chief Dave Erickson talked about the situation.

There were two other children in the home. Nelson says there was no indication of abuse of those children. They were removed from the home Wednesday.

Both Price and Fayant are being held on $100,000 cash-only bond. They’ll have an initial appearance in court on Monday.