Baby woman ‘froze to loss of life in bed room’ as dad charged with manslaughter of 13-month-old
Little Eleanora died in a freezing bedroom at her family home. A medical examiner ruled she died of hypothermia and that her death was an accident, but cops have charged her dad with manslaughter
Little Eleanora (Image: Erika Dupuis)
A dad has been charged with manslaughter after his baby girl died in a freezing bedroom. Shane McLaughlin’s 13-month-old daughter Eleanora Ray McLaughlin died of hypothermia, a medical examiner ruled.
She was found unresponsive at the family home in Milford, Maine, USA, last December. McLaughlin, 37, previously claimed he discovered Eleonora lifeless after waking up in the bitterly cold room.
He was arrested on Wednesday and charged with manslaughter. He was later taken to the Penobscot County Jail and is expected to appear in court at the Penobscot Judicial Center, local media in the US reports.
Shane McLaughlin has been charged with manslaughter(Image: Penobscot County Jail)
Little Eleanora died on December 28 last year. McLaughlin told local outlet NEWS CENTER Maine that he had been sleeping in the same room as his children, which was being heated by a space heater.
He claimed a family pet had left the door open, allowing freezing air to flood the room overnight. He told the outlet he noticed just how cold the room had become when he woke up and could see his breath.
McLaughlin said he went to wake his daughter, only to make the heartbreaking discovery. He said at the time: “I grabbed a package of Pop-Tarts, opened it up, and I went to wake up Eleanora, and that’s when I found her dead.”
McLaughlin, pictured with estranged partner Erika Dupuis(Image: Shane McLaughlin/Facebook)
The exact circumstances surrounding the toddler’s death have not been publicly disclosed. And despite the manslaughter charge against her dad, officials have classified the tragic tot’s death as an accident.
The Office of Chief Medical Examiner confirmed that Eleanora died from hypothermia, the Bangor Daily News reported. Eleanora’s estranged mother, Erika Dupuis, had previously demanded answers over her daughter’s tragic death.
She moved to West Virginia in the summer of 2025, leaving her three children in the care of her estranged husband. She told local media she had been “working to build a better life for her family” and hoped to eventually bring her children to live with her.
Eleanora had a twin sister and a three-year-old brother, Erika said. Maine State Senator Jeff Timberlake claimed records he obtained showed that the family had previously been investigated by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.
He said the charge was “about time, adding: “I don’t know what took so long.”
McLaughlin reportedly acknowledged that he and Erika had been investigated several times since 2017, although he disputed the investigators’ findings. Attorney information for McLaughlin was not immediately available.
