Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that Ryan Beeley (age 40), of Warwick, pleaded nolo contendere today to one count of involuntary manslaughter before Superior Court Justice Daniel A. Procaccini. The charge stems from a 2017 incident that resulted in the unintentional death of Beeley's 7-month-old daughter.
Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that during the early evening on February 21, 2017, Beeley's girlfriend left him home alone with their 7-month-old daughter in the bedroom of their home on Airway Road in Warwick. Beeley was under the influence of drugs at the time – later determined by a toxicology report to have been fentanyl, clonazepam, cocaine, and methadone. Beeley's girlfriend returned to the home and found him passed out on top of their daughter. Warwick Rescue and Fire personnel were called to the scene and were unsuccessful in their efforts to save the infant. The state would have ultimately proven that Beeley, in an intoxicated state, caused the unintentional death of his daughter due to asphyxiation.
Beeley is scheduled to be sentenced at a future date.
Sergeant Shaun Turcotte and Sergeant Frederick Pierce of the Warwick Police Department led the investigation of the case and Assistant Attorneys General Shannon Signore and Ania Zielinski prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General.
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