Lee County Man Pleads Guilty to Murder in Death of 5-Year Old

MARIANNA, Ark. — On Monday, July 15, 2024, Nathan Bridges, 34, pleaded guilty to First-Degree Murder and First-Degree Battery in the 2022 death of a 5-year-old boy in the Moro community, west of Marianna in Lee County.

Bridges was sentenced to 60 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.

The body of Blu Rolland, 5, was uncovered beneath a floor inside his family’s home on Dec. 16, 2022, the day he would have turned 6.  The Lee County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the Arkansas State Police’s (ASP) Criminal Investigation Division.

Special Agents also investigated injuries sustained by a 6-year-old girl who lived in the home.

ASP arrested Bridges and Ashley Rolland, 30, the mother of the children, and transported the couple to the Lee County Detention Center.

Rolland faced multiple felony charges, including Capital Murder, Permitting Child Abuse, Abuse of a Corpse, Tampering with Physical Evidence, Endangering the Welfare of a Minor, and Battery.

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The probable cause affidavit says on December 26, Lee County deputies were requested by Karen Rolland, mother to Ashley, to perform a civil standby at 211 Front Street to pick up her two grandchildren. Ashley brought out her daughter and said her son, Blu, was not at the residence. The daughter had apparent injuries that had scabbed over on her head and Ashley claimed it was an allergic reaction to something.

In reality, it was from burns. The child was taken to the Forrest City Hospital where staff determined the child had been severely burned. The child was transferred to Le Bonheur Hospital in Memphis.

At some point, Karen learned that Blu was possibly deceased in the residence. Deputies arrived on Front Street. They met Timmy Childers, Ashley’s father, who reported that Ashley told him Blu was dead.

Deputies entered the home to find Blu and render aid if he was alive. They went to the location in the home where Blu was reportedly located and found newly nailed-down boards. Deputies removed the boards and found disturbed earth underneath. When the deputies removed the top layer of dirt, they found a child’s flip-flop shoes and a red and blue blanket. They were also met with the odor of human decomposition. The deputies exited the home and contacted state police to take over.

Special agents interviewed Childers, who said his daughter had told him Blu had recently come out of the bathroom, collapsed, and died. She allegedly attempted resuscitation and told her father he was buried under the floor. Another similar story was told to a second witness. Ashley said she didn’t know what to do, so she buried her son under the floorboards in her house.

State police executed a search warrant at the house, removing more flooring and uncovering a small human body wrapped in multiple layers of plastic bags.

Ashley Rolland was interviewed at the Marianna Police Department and said her son died on September 9, 2022. According to the affidavit, she said Blu had angered her boyfriend, Nathan Bridges, by biting his finger when Bridges stuck his finger in Blu’s mouth. Bridges took the little boy into the bathroom and as punishment, repeatedly placed his head in the water filled toilet until he drowned him.

Then, Nathan cut a hole in their wood floor, dug a hole in the ground, and buried Blu under the house. Ashley claimed she was in the living room while her 5-year-old son was being murdered in the bathroom. After Nathan exited, he said she entered the bathroom and saw Blu struggling to breathe. His body was limp.

Further, Ashley told police the injuries to her daughter were caused by Bridges when he held her head and upper torso under hot water in the bathtub. The mother reportedly said the girl suffered from behavior issues and that Bridges put her in hot water for punishment.

Updated August 13, 2024:

Ashley has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 40 years.

Mother Pleads Guilty in Boy’s Death, Girl’s Injuries