A 75-year-old Louisiana woman, Alice Rollinson Bunch Idlett, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of her 16-month-old son, Earl Dwayne Bunch III, which occurred over half a century ago in 1970. At the time of the incident, Idlett, then 20, had claimed that her son’s fatal skull fracture was the result of a fall from his crib. However, a cold-case investigation initiated in 2022 has now ruled the child’s death a homicide.
The investigation revealed that the toddler had been covered in bruises, bite marks, and burn marks. Disturbing letters written by Idlett to her then-husband, Earl Bunch Jr, who was stationed in Thailand during the Vietnam War, were also uncovered. These letters contained explicit expressions of hatred towards their son and even threats to his life.
In one of the letters, Idlett wrote, “I just got through whipping that little basdard (sic). I hate him. That’s the honest truth.” She also expressed her regret at having the child, stating, “God had to punish me by letting me have that little brat. I wish I would have died when he was born. I hate myself.”
Idlett’s letters also contained threats to the child’s life. In one instance, she wrote, “I’ll kill him before he becomes spoilt. I honestly mean that…” She also expressed her frustration with the child’s crying, stating that she would “whip him until his darn seat is red. … I hate your son. I wish he was dead…”
When Idlett took her son to the hospital, he was found to be “limp and gasping for breath.” The doctor discovered bite marks, a burn mark on his buttocks, and bruising all over his body. These injuries were inconsistent with a fall from a crib, but Idlett denied any wrongdoing, suggesting that the child “probably fractured his skull when he fell out of bed at his grandmother’s house.”
The child’s father did not report the disturbing letters to the authorities at the time. According to court documents, he testified that he accepted his son’s death as accidental because he could not believe that the woman he loved could have harmed her own son.
The case was closed due to insufficient evidence and remained dormant for years until the 2022 investigation. The investigation led the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office to convene a Grand Jury, which resulted in Idlett being charged with second-degree murder. She is currently being held at the Calcasieu Parish Correctional Center on a $950,000 bond.