Manslaughter Charges Filed in Death of Putnam 2-Year-Old

The boy's father and his girlfriend have been charged with manslaughter.

The two people arrested in connection with the choking death of a 2-year-old boy in Putnam this spring have been additionally charged with manslaughter, according to Danielson Superior Court.

David Mahan, 30, the boy’s father, and Renee Peterson, 32, Mahan’s girlfriend, were initially arrested in April. Mahan was charged in Massachusetts as a fugitive from justice and Peterson was charged with risk of injury to a minor, reckless endangerment and cruelty to persons. Today, they were additionally charged with second-degree manslaughter.

According to the warrant for her arrest, Peterson left Mahan’s two sons, ages 2 and 1, alone in a locked bedroom while she went to a methadone clinic in Willimantic the morning of March 26.

While she was gone, the toddler choked to death on a piece of food and was later found unresponsive at the home on Mechanic Drive, the warrant says.

Police initially said the boy’s death appeared accidental.

Mahan will appear in court again Aug. 15 and Peterson is due back Sept. 12.

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