The cause of death for the couple's 17-month-old child was listed as "asphyxia consistent with co-sleeping with an adult on a couch"
Credit: Bell County Detention Center (2)
NEED TO KNOW
- Charges have been dropped against Kentucky parents once charged with their toddler’s murder
- Loren Gage was accused of suffocating her 17-month-old baby while co-sleeping, as her partner Dakota Spencer slept nearby
- “You can hear that child’s last breath,” an attorney said after reviewing home surveillance related to the incident
A Kentucky couple has been cleared of murder charges related to their toddler’s death following the review of surveillance footage.
Loren Gage was previously charged with murder, while Dakota Spencer was charged with manslaughter. They were both 26 years old at the time, per the Lexington Herald-Leader.
A motion filed March 20 stated that officials reviewed evidence, including surveillance footage, and do not believe “there is evidence to support the manslaughter and murder charges,” KBTX reported Thursday, March 26.
On Aug. 13, 2025, the Middlesboro Police Department said they, along with fire and EMS crews, were dispatched on July 30, 2025, to a local home in response to an unresponsive 17-month-old child.
Credit: Bell County Detention Center
Life-saving measures were performed, and the child was transported to the Middlesboro ARH Hospital, where the child was later pronounced deceased by the Bell County Coroner's Office.
The cause of death was listed as “asphyxia consistent with co-sleeping with an adult on a couch,” the news station reported, citing the medical examiner.
Bell County Commonwealth Attorney Mike Taylor previously told the Lexington Herald-Leader that Gage was “extraordinarily intoxicated” and fell asleep on the couch with the baby against the back of the couch around midnight on July 30, 2025.
The baby seemed to have died while Gage slept. Spencer was also in the room at the time, the outlet reported.
Credit: Bell County Detention Center
At some point during the night, Gage got up to smoke a cigarette, but did not appear to realize the toddler was dead until approximately 7 a.m.
“This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life,” Taylor said in August 2025 of reviewing the footage. “The grand jury listened to it, I’ve listened to it multiple times. On the video, which also has audio, you can hear that child’s last breath.”
At the time, the indictments claimed Gage engaged in wanton conduct that caused the death of their young child, adding that Spencer permitted the abuse and allowed Gage to cause the baby’s death.
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Following an investigation, the Commonwealth said it “does not believe there is evidence to support a wanton murder charge against the defendant or a manslaughter charge against the co-defendant, Dakota Spencer,” WYMT reported Thursday.
It added that regarding Gage, there was not enough “evidence to support a manslaughter first-degree charge against the defendant or a wanton murder charge against her.”
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