Inset: Allysen Armenta. Background: Allysen Armenta’s newborn baby (KBOI).
An Idaho mother, Allysen Armenta, has admitted to charges more severe than she initially faced, following revelations in her case regarding the tragic death of her 12-day-old infant. Initially, the death was presented as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
The 28-year-old Armenta initially agreed to a plea deal on July 30, pleading guilty to failing to notify and injuring a child. Under this arrangement with the Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office, charges of evidence destruction and resisting arrest were set to be dismissed.
During her plea hearing, as Armenta explained her failure to report her son’s tragic death, the judge unexpectedly paused the proceedings. The courtroom was told, “I’m going to speak with the attorneys, and we’ll come back and we’ll resume in a few minutes, and proceed as we may be able,” according to the Idaho Statesman.
After about 30 minutes, the judge reappeared, announcing that a legal issue had arisen. Consequently, Armenta’s plea hearing has been postponed, allowing time to renegotiate the terms of the plea deal.
“A legal issue has come up,” Judge Thomas Witney told the court, according to local CBS affiliate KBOI. “It is necessary to give the attorneys time to conduct more legal research before we move forward.”
On Thursday, Armenta appeared at her rescheduled plea hearing and pleaded guilty to three felony counts: one count of injury to a child and two counts of evidence destruction. The two counts of evidence destruction were Alford pleas, meaning she maintains her innocence but admits there’s enough evidence to convict her.
Armenta was accused of rolling over on her baby, Benjamin, who was called “Benji,” while they were sleeping. She and the child’s father, Brian Lemke, 32, texted each other after their child’s death instead of immediately calling police, according to court documents obtained by local NBC affiliate KTVB. Both were charged with four felony counts of injury to a child, destruction of evidence, failing to report or delaying reporting a death, and resisting and obstructing law enforcement. They claimed to find Benji unconscious in a bassinet.
At her canceled plea hearing, Armenta was going through the elements of the charges and explaining how she would co-sleep with Benji and she admitted to keeping him in a home that was “unfit for living” for a baby, according to KBOI. She also admitted to having a cellphone that she could have used to alert first responders about Benji’s death right before Judge Witney shut things down.
It’s unclear who directly caused Benji’s death, only that police believe the child suffocated inside the trailer, which was allegedly filled with trash, food, dirt, cigarettes, and animal feces.
Nampa police responded to a 911 call from Lemke on Dec. 16, 2025, around 3:32 a.m., according to a press release posted on Facebook. Police said they went to a property in the 300 block of Lone Star Road and spoke with Lemke at a house where he claimed Benji died, not the “filthy” trailer where he actually died. Armenta was not at the scene.
“After further investigation by detectives, it was determined the infant passed away in a different location and was later moved into the house,” police say in reference to the trailer. “Officers also found the infant’s mother hiding in a camp trailer in the backyard. She was taken into custody without incident on an unrelated out-of-county warrant.”
Lemke was sentenced in late July to spend between six and 15 years in a state correctional facility after pleading guilty to failure to report a death and destruction of evidence.
Court records show that the couple has multiple prior convictions for injuring children in Idaho. They had other kids removed from their home in recent years and placed in foster care, some for hazardous living conditions, KTVB reports.
Armenta is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 3.
The post Mother who tried to pass off suffocated 12-day-old baby in ‘filthy’ trailer as SIDS death admits to more serious charges after new info comes to light first appeared on Law & Crime.