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Main, left to right: Deja Rollins and Justin Rollins (Jacksonville Police Dept.). Inset: Arkansas Children’s Hospital (YouTube, THV11 screenshot).
A married couple in Arkansas will spend decades behind bars for killing two of their children — a 3-year-old who died at a local children’s hospital from abuse and severe malnutrition as well as a 2-year-old who died of heat exhaustion in the hospital parking lot after he and his other three siblings were left unattended in a hot car while their parents were inside with the other victim.
Sixth Judicial Circuit Judge Karen Whatley on Friday ordered Justin Rollins and Deja Rollins to each serve 70 years in a state correctional facility after they each pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in their children’s slayings, plus an additional count of first-degree domestic battery for the abuse they inflicted on their 4-year-old child, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Specifically, Whatley handed down 30 years on each of the murder charges and 10 years on the domestic abuse charges, with all of the sentences to be served consecutively.
The couple had been facing capital murder charges before they reached a deal with prosecutors this month.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, officers with the Jacksonville Police Department on the afternoon of Sunday, July 7, 2024, responded to a call about a 3-year-old patient at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) being a possible victim of child abuse and neglect. The 3-year-old suffered from injuries that required “urgent medical treatment,” Jacksonville Police said in a news release.
The parents were both arrested in connection with the alleged abuse inflicted upon the 3-year-old, and police began inquiring as to whether the couple had any other children.
“During the investigation, officers discovered that the couple had four other children, ages 2, 4, 7, and 10,” Jacksonville Police said. “At the time of the parents’ arrest, Justin and Deja Rollins were not cooperative in providing the location of the other children.”
The kids were eventually located, as all four of them had accompanied their parents to the children’s hospital, authorities said.
At about 12:42 p.m., officers with the Little Rock Police Department were also dispatched to the children’s hospital and “made aware of a child abuse report from the Jacksonville Police Department involving Justin and Deja Rollins.”
Upon arriving at the facility, Little Rock officers were contacted by hospital security guards who advised them that they had received a call from Jacksonville Police at about 12:30 p.m. informing them of four children trapped inside a vehicle in the parking lot. The temperature outside reached a high of 92 degrees in Little Rock that day.
Police and security located the vehicle and removed all of the victims from the hot vehicle. All four children appeared to be suffering from heat exhaustion and were taken inside the hospital for treatment while police observed.
Despite receiving medical treatment at the hospital, the couple’s 2-year-old son, later identified as Jay’Dien, succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. Homicide detectives began a death investigation, executed search warrants and submitted a probable cause affidavit to the Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
While searching the Rollins’ home, police said they found a malnourished dog, which was placed into the care of Jacksonville Animal Services. A charge of cruelty to animals was dropped as part of the couple’s plea agreements.
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