Staff report

ATLANTA, Ga. – Sean D. Lee, 26, and Donrea A. McLaughlin, 22, both of Gainesville, have been arrested in Atlanta and charged with felony murder, two counts of aggravated child abuse, two counts of child neglect, and two counts of refusing medical care to a crime victim after McLaughlin’s 3-year-old daughter died at a local hospital.

According to a release from Gainesville Police Department (GPD), on Friday, September 1, GPD officers and EMS responded to the area of 4800 NW 43rd Street after a caller reported that a 3-year-old child was not breathing. The child was transported to the hospital, where she was later pronounced deceased.

McLaughlin reportedly told the investigating officers that she had been napping for several hours and when she was awakened by Lee, her boyfriend, they found the child unresponsive.

However, further investigation revealed that McLaughlin and Lee had gone to work that day and had left the child and her young sibling alone and unsupervised for about eight hours. Detectives reported that the pair did not arrange for childcare, and nobody even checked on the children during that time; the couple found the child unresponsive when they returned to the residence. The other child also reportedly received treatment at a nearby hospital the same night.

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As detectives continued to investigate the incident, they reportedly found a history of prolonged abuse and neglect that contributed to the death of one child and injury to the other.

McLaughlin and Lee reportedly fled to Atlanta, where they lived before moving to Gainesville. Once detectives had established probable cause for criminal charges, they obtained warrants for the pair, with bail set at $4,500,000.

GPD Detectives Ranisha Johnson and Desiree Russano, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Warrants Detectives, and the U.S. Marshals Service Regional Fugitive Task Force worked together to arrest Lee and McLaughlin. They will be extradited back to the Alachua County Jail.

Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to contact Det. Johnson at 352-393-7656 or Johnsonrl@cityofgainesville.org.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.