LEXINGTON COUNTY, SC (WIS) -
Due to lack of evidence, the state attorney general's office has dropped criminal charges against a Midlands man who was accused of homicide by child abuse after a toddler died while in his care in 2010.
40-year-old Michael Roland Creech was arrested on April 16, 2011 after the State Law Enforcement Division completed an investigation into the death of a 21-month-old in Creech's home.
The warrant alleged that on November 5, 2010, Creech did "unlawfully, wilfully, and knowingly cause the death" of the boy who was in his care. According to the warrant, medical experts determined the boy's death was "the result of non-accidental trauma."
According to an incident report released by Lexington County deputies, the unnamed 21-month-old was at the house of his babysitter, Creech's wife, when the incident occurred. A hospital chaplain told deputies Creech's wife left the house around 10:00 a.m. on November 5 to take her child to the doctor, leaving the 21-month-old in her husband's care.
The chaplain said Creech's wife put the 21-month-old in his "pack and play" while Creech watched TV. Creech later told his wife he heard a thump, according to the chaplain, and found the child at the bottom of the stairs.
Creech told his wife the baby was unresponsive, according to the report, so he called 911. The report states that both the Creeches and the child's parents speculated that the child crawled out of his "pack and play" and fell down the stairs.
According to Creech's attorney, August Swarat, the Lexington County Sheriff's Department first investigated the case, but ruled the child's death accidental and did not charge Creech. SLED also investigated and decided to charge him, Swarat said.
Prosecutors with the SC AG's office dropped the case on June 12.
Creech spent approximately eight weeks in jail on the charges, Swarat said. He was facing life in prison.
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Michael Roland Creech after his arrest in 2011. (Source: Lexington County Detention Center)
