Plea deal in infant death case

Levi M. Coffel, of West Plains, has pled guilty to second degree manslaughter in the August 2023 death of his six-month-old daughter. Initially charged with abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death, Coffel’s plea to the class E felony was accepted in Howell County Court by the Honorable Sandra Brewer on July 22. 

 

Court documents say the range of punishment provided by law is one to four years’ imprisonment or one to 12 months in the county jail, or a fine not exceeding $10,000, or a combination of confinement and a fine. 

 

Coffel is scheduled to be sentenced on September 23. 

 

The charges stem from an August 9, 2023 incident in which Coffel was the only caretaker to four small children, including the deceased. West Plains Police recorded his blood-alcohol level at 0.191. The child perished by drowning in the bathtub when Coffel stepped out of the room to find her diaper bag, according to the probable cause statement. Coffel told police he did not realize the tub drain was plugged when he left the room. 

 

Attempts to revive the baby were unsuccessful, and Coffel was arrested and formally charged on August 10, 2023.