APPLETON (NBC 26) — Michael Donnelly, charged in the 2010 co-sleeping death of his infant son, had his trial date set Thursday after a long-lost case resurfaced.
Prosecutors say the file was never referred to them after the original investigating officers left the Appleton Police Department.
- The case was essentially "lost" after original investigators left the Appleton Police Department
- Charges filed 15 years later after the case was rediscovered
- Trial date set for September 29 at 8 a.m. in Outagamie County
A man involved in a co-sleeping case from 2010 had charges brought against him 15 years later—because the case was lost.
After the original investigating officers left the Appleton Police Department, the case was never referred to prosecutors.
The revelation, shared in court Thursday afternoon, explains why Michael Donnelly—the father of the one-month-old who died—had a warrant issued for his arrest in March.
The 2010 criminal complaint alleges Donnelly rolled onto his infant son while they slept on a couch together.
When questioned, Donnelly initially denied drinking the night of the infant’s death—but later admitted to consuming alcohol when asked again a few months later.
District Attorney Melissa Joy Tempelis revealed the information in court to Judge Mark J. McGinnis.
“The investigation was done by an officer who then left the police department," District Attorney Tempelis revealed. "I believe that there was a change in, I don’t know, some systems within the department and this was not referred to us and this was discovered and sent to us in December.”
Judge Mark J. McGinnis presided over the hearing and reduced Donnelly’s bond to $2,000 cash, citing his local ties and deeming him not a flight risk. The judge maintained previous conditions, including no contact with the victim’s mother, identified as R.W., abstaining from alcohol and drugs, avoiding establishments that primarily serve alcohol, submitting to breathalyzer tests, and permitting only supervised contact with his 11-month-old child.
Donnelly faces a charge of first-degree reckless homicide related to the April 29, 2010, death of his one-month-old son. On that date, Appleton police responded to a residence on North Richmond Street, where the infant was found unresponsive and later pronounced dead at the hospital. An autopsy indicated signs consistent with a co-sleeping incident. Donnelly, who was 20 at the time, initially told police he had been awake all night caring for his son but later admitted to falling asleep on the couch with the infant after consuming five to six beers.
Donnelly’s trial date has been set for September 29 at 8 a.m. in Outagamie County Court.
