MERRITT ISLAND, FL – Authorities have charged two parents in the death of their infant son, alleging a pattern of abuse and text message exchanges that revealed mounting frustration with the newborn in the months leading up to his death.
Donovan Winter, 26, and Belle Winter, 23, face charges of first-degree felony murder and aggravated child abuse in connection with the 2021 death of their 2-month-old son, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. Donovan was arrested on June 17, 2025, and Belle was recently extradited from Pennsylvania after moving out of state following the infant’s death.
Detectives said cell phone records and text conversations between the parents played a significant role in the investigation. Court documents revealed that, in the weeks before the child’s death, the couple exchanged messages expressing difficulty managing the baby’s crying and sleep habits. Some texts from Donovan referred to being unable to cope, while messages from Belle echoed the exhaustion and frustration of caring for their young child.
Officials described the investigation as lengthy and complex, requiring collaboration between local investigators, medical authorities, child welfare officials, and forensic specialists. Authorities said charges could not be filed until enough evidence was gathered to support the allegations, particularly regarding who had direct responsibility at the time of the fatal injuries.
The infant was found unresponsive and lying face down with a pacifier in his mouth at the family’s residence in June 2021, according to arrest affidavits. The child was pronounced dead at the scene and later transported to the county medical examiner, who determined that multiple blunt-force injuries to the head had caused the death.
Investigators said texts obtained from both parents’ phones indicated ongoing struggles to quiet the crying child. Messages dating from late March to early June 2021 referenced their exasperation, with Donovan specifically saying he was “done” and expressing an inability to care for the infant.
Authorities interviewed both parents separately in May 2025. Each denied knowing how the fatal injuries had occurred. Belle claimed she had taken a two-hour shower on the night of her son’s death, checking on the baby afterward and noticing discoloration and stiffness in his body.
Both parents denied shaking the child during questioning. Donovan admitted to moving the infant at bedtime in an effort to settle him, but insisted he never acted violently. However, in one statement, he described a previous incident where he tossed the child into the air and failed to catch him, an event he said happened about two weeks before the death.
Witnesses who had seen the baby between March and June 2021 reported that the child had appeared healthy prior to that day. Photographs and videos on the parents’ phones confirmed that he had worn the same outfit the morning he died.
Continued discrepancies in the parents’ accounts led investigators to probe further. Donovan told police he believed Belle remained in the bathroom for an extended period on the evening in question, leaving him alone to settle the baby despite his own fatigue.
During interviews, Donovan described putting the infant down for bed by rocking him and admitted he may have been rough. He demonstrated how he held and swayed the child while standing over the crib, at times holding the baby vertically and jumping up and down to soothe him. He also admitted to placing the pacifier in the child’s mouth and laying him face down in the bassinet—matching the position in which the infant was later found dead.
According to the investigation, Donovan admitted that his son was crying intensely and difficult to calm that night. He noted that the crying stopped only after he placed the baby face down with the pacifier.
Donovan and Belle Winter remain in custody at the Brevard County Jail without bond as the case moves forward.