Father Gets Year in Suffocation of Baby Under Bag of Diapers

The father of a 6-month-old boy who suffocated when a plastic bag full of dirty diapers fell on him was sentenced Thursday to one year in jail for child endangerment.

Timothy Urbina, 22, of San Carlos was also fined $200 by San Diego Superior Court Judge Herbert Exarhos, who could have sentenced Urbina to four years in state prison.

The infant, Timothy Parr, died Sept. 10, 1987, in a stolen van in which Urbina and the boy’s mother, Leslie Parr, 20, of El Cajon, were living.

Urbina admitted to police that he had taken methamphetamine before going to bed that night and that he and Parr had slept 14 hours. The baby died during the night.

Parr is facing a June 15 trial on the same child endangerment charge. She is also alleged to have been under the effects of methamphetamine at the time.

Urbina pleaded guilty April 14 to child endangerment, a felony.

In imposing five years of probation, Exarhos ordered Urbina not to use drugs while on probation and not to associate with minors under 14.

“This is a tragic case,” said Urbina’s attorney, Edward Peckham. “It’s something he’s going to have to live with for the rest of his life.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Catherine Stephenson called the incident “a severe case of neglect.” She said the couple had no food in the van to feed the baby, had he lived.