PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Two people charged for the death of an infant in Portsmouth were awaiting their next court appearance Monday afternoon after being arraigned Monday morning.
Twenty-five-year-old Chante Smith and 36-year-old Dontae were arrested Dec. 2.
“I can’t believe it," Chiquita Smith said about the news of the infant's death.
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Smith, who says she's unrelated to the suspects, lives in the apartment building where arrest warrants say the two suspects live.
"She looked so innocent. She was so cordial," Smith said. “They were nice people. They had two other kids. They would be out here playing. The guy would take them to the play park, but they took the play park down. He would walk them around and everything. He seemed like a good dad."
As News 3 has reported, police responded to the 2300 block of Victory Boulevard Nov. 26 for a report of a child unresponsive and not breathing.
The arrest warrants do not offer details about what happened to the child, but 25-year-old Chante Smith is charged with willfully, deliberately and with premeditation killing and murdering the child, who neighbors say was a girl about a month old. Taylor is charged with causing the child serious injury by not providing necessary care.
“My first reaction was I prayed for the child," said Perry Bowers, who lives in the apartment next door to the suspects. "I feel like a newborn baby like that, she’s going to heaven. She’s an angel."
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Bowers said he never suspected something like this would happen.
“I see the kids out here playing. All of the kids out here in the neighborhood, they play and they’re nice, respectable kids," said Bowers. "I feel sorry for the parents and the child.”
Monday, News 3 called Portsmouth Police's spokesperson to try to get an update on the investigation but did not get a response.
