Appalling words of woman, 75, arrested over 1970 death of toddler son she blamed on crib fall

A Louisiana woman has been arrested for the 1970 death of her son, as resurfaced letters revealed she expressed hatred of the baby throughout his short life.

Alice Rollinson Bunch Idlett, 75, was charged with second-degree murder on Thursday for killing her 15-month-old baby named Earl Dwayne Bunch III over 55 years ago, reported KFDM.

Police said, Idlett, who was 20 years old at the time, claimed Earl had fallen out of a crib when he was taken to the emergency room of West Calcasieu-Cameron Hospital in Sulphur on January 19, 1970.

Baby Earl had suffered multiple fractures, but an investigation into his death was ultimately closed due to a lack of evidence.

Earl Dwayne was limp and gasping for breath. He was immediately transferred to Lake Charles Memorial Hospital where he was x-rayed. The x-rays revealed multiple fractures of the skull and right shoulder, public records stated. 

An investigation was conducted by the Calcasieu Parish Sheriffs Office. No arrest or charges were levied against Mrs. Bunch as a result of the investigation. 

In 2022, the Sulphur Police Department reopened the investigation at request of the child’s family, according to KPLC.

The investigation led to resurfaced letters between Idlett and the babys father, Earl Bunch Jr., who was serving overseas during the Vietnam war at the time of his death, where the mother confessed to hating and wanting to kill her son.

Alice Rollinson Bunch Idlett (pictured), 75, was arrested for the 1970 death of her son Earl Dwayne Bunch III, as resurfaced letters revealed she expressed hatred of the baby

The shocking letters appeared in court documents after the two filed divorced in for divorce in 1983 and fought for custody of their daughter, who was born in 1975.

I just got through whipping that little basdard (sic). I hate him. Thats the honest truth, Idlett wrote on November 4, 1969.

Now I know how those people feel that get rid of their kids. I believe I could do it. Im serious. 

On November 19, 1969, she said, I honestly wish he had never been born. He knows he wont get his way around me. Ill kill him before he becomes spoilt. I honestly mean that. 

If he [Baby Earl] starts crying when I put him down to play, Im going to whip him until his darn seat is red. I cant put up with this mess... I hate your son. I wish he was dead, Idlett wrote in a letter from November 21, 1969.

According to the court filings, the doctor who examined the baby at the hospital did not believe his injuries were consistent with a fall from the crib.

Dr. J.M. Thorkelson said the boy was brought into the hospital in a comatose condition, had multiple bruises over his body, had bite marks over his body and burns on his buttocks.

These were not the type of injuries I would have expected to see from a fall from a crib, for example, or a porch, or something like that, where you get a fairly severe injury, Thorkelsons summation at custody trial said.

Idlett (pictured in her high school year book two years before the babys murder) was indicted by a grand jury on second-degree murder charges

It looked more like a child that had been beaten; that perhaps somebody had taken it by the feet, and swung it against a piece of furniture or the wall.

After cops reopened the investigation, the babys remains were FBI for a forensic autopsy which determined the manner of death as a homicide.

Idlett was indicted by a grand jury on second-degree murder charges and is being held at the Calcasieu Parish Correctional Center on a $950,000 bond.