Middlesboro Parents Have Charges Dismissed in the Death of Their Child
- WRIL-FM
- Mar 25
- 2 min read
From WRIL - The Big One -
On Monday March 16, 2026, a motion to dismiss charges against Loren Gage and Dakota Spencer in connection with the death of their child was filed in Bell Circuit Court.
As we previously reported, on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, the Middlesboro Police Department, along with Middlesboro Fire/EMS, was dispatched to a Middlesboro residence in reference to an unresponsive 17-month-old child.
Upon first responders’ arrival, life-saving measures were administered, and the child was transported to the Middlesboro ARH Hospital. The child was later pronounced deceased by the Bell County Coroner's Office. The child’s body was subsequently transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Frankfort, KY, for further examination.
The results of the medical examiners autopsy determined that the death of the child was caused by “asphyxia consistent with co-sleeping with an adult on a couch.”
Loren Gage was then indicted for murder, and Dakota Spencer was indicted for manslaughter in the first degree.
The special prosecutor on the case, the Honorable Amanda Morgan from the KY AG’s Office, states in the order that “the Commonwealth does not believe there is evidence to support a wanton murder charge against the defendant (Loren Gage) or a manslaughter first degree charge against the co-defendant (Dakota Spencer).”
Additionally, the order states that "the Commonwealth does not believe the evidence supports that defendant acted under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life to support a wanton murder charge or that the co-defendant knowingly permitted the victim to be abused and thereby caused the victim’s death to support a manslaughter first degree charge."
The order to dismiss was accepted and granted by Bell Circuit Court Judge Keith Nagle on Friday, March 20, 2026. Both Loren and Dakota have been released from custody.
This post was truly informative and helped me gain clarity on so many things related to this topic. Visit Bright King for more such content!
This post was a goldmine of information! It helped me understand this topic deeply and cleared up a lot of my confusion. Visit Hire Developers for more.
This post covered so much ground and really helped me gain a solid understanding of the topic while clearing up my confusion. Explore Daymaniyat Islands for more posts like this.
It is heartbreaking to read how a case of co-sleeping led to such devastating legal consequences for the family. In a completely different context, I recently used an ai vocal remover to isolate a vocal track for a music project, and it worked impressively well.
The autopsy report detailing the cause of death as asphyxia from co-sleeping was pivotal in the case, yet the special prosecutor ultimately found insufficient evidence for the charges. Converting such reports into accessible formats like SRT to VTT could help legal teams share transcripts more efficiently across different platforms. It is a reminder that clear documentation can shape how cases proceed.