A Marion couple, including a woman from Perry, have been sentenced to jail after an alleged incident where a child died.

According to court documents, 30-year-old Jacob Burns has been charged with a Class C Felony of Child Endangerment for Serious Injury, a Class C Felony for Neglect or Abandonment of a Dependent Person, and a Class D Felony of Possession of a Controlled Substance while 29-year-old Lacy Jo Eiteman was tagged for two counts of Class C Felonies of Child Endangerment for Serious Injury and Neglect of Abandonment of a Dependent Person. Both Burns and Eiteman were sentenced to 20 years each in prison.

The charges stemmed from an incident back on September 30th, 2024, where first responders went to a rural Marion County home for an unresponsive three-week-old baby. Court documents show that Eiteman and Burns were caretakers of the baby and they told officers that they allegedly used alcohol and methamphetamine overnight before they fell asleep with the baby between them. 

The criminal complaint states that the baby was found with bruises on its body after the infant was found unconscious. According to court documents, arrest warrants were issued on December 26th, and led to Burns being taken into custody on January 1st and Eiteman on January 23rd. Burns and Eiteman are both being held in the Marion County Jail.