A Baton Rouge jury has found Roxanne Record guilty of manslaughter in the death of her 4-year-old granddaughter, China Record, after prosecutors said the child was forced to drink whiskey as punishment and later died from alcohol poisoning.
WBRZ reporter Halle Jefferson said Record was visibly shaking in court as she waited for the verdict, and became emotional once jurors returned their decision.
The case centered on what happened inside a home on Wallis Street in April 2022, when first responders found China unresponsive after investigators said she had been made to drink alcohol. The details presented in court were difficult, and Jefferson reported that the jury appeared torn before reaching its verdict.
A Child Found Unresponsive
Jefferson reported that police found 4-year-old China Record unresponsive at the Baton Rouge home on April 21, 2022.
According to investigators, Roxanne Record, the child’s grandmother, forced China to drink whiskey after the girl allegedly took a sip from a bottle that had been left on a counter.
At the time, Jefferson said, Roxanne Record and China’s mother, Kadjah Record, told detectives they were upset because the child had taken that sip. Prosecutors later argued that the alcohol was consumed one to three hours before China’s death.
The East Baton Rouge coroner found that China’s blood alcohol content was .680 percent, according to Jefferson’s report.
That number is almost hard to process when attached to a 4-year-old child. In an adult, that level would already suggest extreme danger; in a child, it points to a catastrophic and preventable medical emergency.
Prosecutors Say Punishment Went Too Far
Jefferson reported that Roxanne Record had told detectives she wanted to take full blame for China’s death and admitted she “went too far” while punishing the girl.
The prosecution said this was not simply a child accidentally getting into alcohol, but a punishment that turned deadly.
During the trial, two grandchildren who were in the home at the time recalled hearing Roxanne Record say, “Now drink the rest,” after China was allegedly caught drinking the alcohol, according to Jefferson’s report.
One child witness said China was flailing around before passing out in the hallway. That child also described China being placed in a bathtub while water was run over her.
Those details help explain why East Baton Rouge Assistant District Attorney Dana Cummings described the case as difficult to try, especially because children had to testify about what they saw and heard.
“My biggest concern was that the case would hang up, and it would be a hung jury,” Cummings told WBRZ, saying it would have been very hard to try the case again because of the young witnesses and the emotional weight of the evidence.
Jury Deliberated For More Than Six Hours
Jefferson said the jury deliberated for more than six hours after closing arguments.
During deliberations, jurors stopped several times to ask the judge questions, including requests for any evidence that could be provided and for the definitions of second-degree murder and manslaughter to be read again.
That back-and-forth suggested the jury was not rushing through the decision. They were weighing the difference between charges, the evidence, and what level of criminal responsibility the law supported.
Cummings told Jefferson that the jury put serious effort into the verdict.
“They deliberated for a long time,” Cummings said. “They put a lot of thought, effort into it. It was a tough case, and I think they made a good decision.”
A manslaughter verdict in a case originally charged as first-degree murder can reflect that jurors found criminal responsibility, but did not land on the highest level of intent alleged by prosecutors. That kind of distinction is often painful for everyone involved, because the facts remain devastating no matter what legal label the jury chooses.
Defense Called It A Tragic Accident
Jefferson reported that the defense described the death as a tragic accident.
The defense argued that China was tall enough to reach the counter where the alcohol had been left, suggesting the child could have accessed it herself.
That argument stood in sharp contrast to the prosecution’s case, which relied on statements, witness testimony, and the claim that China was forced to continue drinking after taking a sip.
The trial therefore turned on more than whether the child consumed alcohol. It turned on how she consumed it, who was responsible, and whether the adults in the home caused or allowed the situation to become fatal.
Cases involving children are always hard for juries, but this one carried an especially grim question: how could a punishment, if the prosecution’s account is accepted, ever involve making a 4-year-old drink whiskey?
It is the kind of alleged act that feels outside any normal boundary of discipline, and the verdict shows jurors believed a crime had been committed even if they did not convict Roxanne Record of murder.
Mother Still Faces Charges
Jefferson also reported that China’s mother, Kadjah Record, remains in parish prison on first-degree murder and cruelty charges in connection with her daughter’s death.
Police have said Kadjah Record allegedly witnessed the incident without intervening.
Cummings told WBRZ that prosecutors wanted to try Roxanne Record’s case first and that Kadjah Record’s case is next on the agenda.
“We wanted to try this case first, and that one’s next,” Cummings said.
Kadjah Record is scheduled to return to court next month, according to Jefferson’s report.
That means the legal process is not over for China’s family. One case has now produced a manslaughter conviction, while another case still looms over the same night and the same death.
Sentencing Set For August
Roxanne Record is scheduled to be sentenced on August 10.
Jefferson reported that she faces up to 40 years in prison.
The sentence will be decided later, but the verdict already marks a major step in a case that began with a child found unresponsive and ended, years later, with jurors finding the grandmother criminally responsible for manslaughter.
For prosecutors, the outcome avoided the possibility of a hung jury and spared the state from having to retry a case that Cummings said was hard to assemble, especially because children had to relive what happened.
For the defense, the verdict was less severe than a murder conviction but still carries the possibility of decades in prison.
For China Record, the case is now part of the public record as a reminder of how quickly abuse, punishment, and adult anger can become irreversible when a child is trapped in the middle.
Jefferson’s report made clear that the courtroom struggle was not only over facts, but over how to name what happened: accident, punishment, cruelty, manslaughter, or murder.
The jury chose manslaughter. Now the court will decide how much time Roxanne Record serves for the death of a 4-year-old girl prosecutors said was forced to drink whiskey as punishment.
Gary’s love for adventure and preparedness stems from his background as a former Army medic. Having served in remote locations around the world, he knows the importance of being ready for any situation, whether in the wilderness or urban environments. Gary’s practical medical expertise blends with his passion for outdoor survival, making him an expert in both emergency medical care and rugged, off-the-grid living. He writes to equip readers with the skills needed to stay safe and resilient in any scenario.
