Judge rejects plea deal in tot’s death

BENTONVILLE — Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green on Monday refused to accept a plea agreement for a man accused of causing his infant son’s death while sleeping with him.

Vincent Heyns, 24, of Rogers is charged with manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a minor. He’s accused of being under the influence of marijuana while co-sleeping with his 2-month-old son, causing his death.

Wilson Raines, deputy prosecutor, had reached an agreement with Janette McKinney, Heyns’ attorney, to resolve the case.

Green rejected the agreement. Instead, she set a jury trial in Heyns’ case to begin July 11.

Neither Green nor the attorneys discussed details of the agreement in court.

The judge earlier Monday did accept a plea agreement for Emily Heyns, the baby’s mother.

Emily Heyns, 21, had been charged with manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a minor. She agreed to plead guilty to the endangering charge; prosecutors dismissed the manslaughter charge. She was placed on six years of state-supervised probation and ordered to be evaluated for alcohol and substance abuse at Ozark Guidance.

Raines told the judge the manslaughter charge was dismissed against Emily Heyns because the baby was in the possession and control of her husband.

Benton County sheriff’s office deputies received a call about a nonresponsive child at 12671 Scenic Drive in Rogers about 2 p.m. Nov. 1, according to court documents.

Emily Heyns told Green she and her husband took their son trick-or-treating and returned home and consumed marijuana.

“He ended up falling to sleep with our baby in bed,” she said about her husband.

Green described Emily Heyns’ agreement as lenient but said she understood it was the only charge that could be filed against her.

Green took a different approach when it came to Vincent Heyns’ plea agreement. She described the agreement as lenient, especially since it was the couple’s second child to die under similar circumstances.

On July 13, 2021, deputies were called to the same address to investigate the death of a 4-month-old child. An investigation revealed the Heynses were both sleeping with the child, who was in Vincent Heyns’ arms when he died, according to the affidavit.

Green said the child’s mother got a break and her husband is the one she said was sleeping with their child.

Raines said the autopsy results were inconclusive about the cause of death.

McKinney said the couple’s first child died from sudden infant death syndrome and the parents were not to blame.

In the latest case, Emily Heyns said she, her grandfather Robert Rose and Vincent Heyns were in the home when they realized the child wasn’t breathing, according to the probable cause affidavit. She said the baby was lying in their bed in her husband’s arms, according to the affidavit.

During interviews, the couple said they had been smoking marijuana, according to the affidavit.

Vincent Heyns said the child was lying on his chest. He said he woke up and the baby “shimmied” down his chest and his face was pressed into the right side of his chest.