For more than five decades, the d*ath of 16-month-old Earl Bunch III was believed to be a tragic accident. Now, thanks to a reopened investigation, not only was it confirmed that he was m*rdered, but also that the culprit was his own mother.
Alice Rollinson Idlett was taken into custody last Thursday (March 17) and charged with second-degree m*rder. Helping the case against her was the discovery of a series of chilling letters in which she exposed her deep resentment towards the child.
Highlights
- Mother charged with her baby's murder 55 years after claiming he fell from bed.
- Chilling letters from mother reveal deep resentment and abuse towards baby.
- Forensic autopsy and rediscovered letters led to homicide ruling.
- Baby had multiple skull fractures, a broken shoulder, human bite marks, and burn marks.
“I just got through whipping that little b*stard. I hate him. That’s the honest truth,” she wrote in November 1969.
The letters, together with a forensic autopsy of the child’s exhumed remains, allowed Sulphur police to rule the case as a homicide.
Trigger warning: this article covers sensitive topics such as ab*se, m*rder, and self-harm ideation.
A mother was charged with her baby son’s murder 55 years after she claimed he fell from a bed
Image credits: Alice Idlett/Facebook
Court records reveal that Idlett, then just 18 years old, gave birth to Earl in September of 1968 while her husband, Earl Bunch, Jr., was serving overseas in the US Army.
The couple later divorced, and during their separation, a set of letters written by Idlett came to light, revealing a disturbing pattern of ab*se and animosity toward their son.
Image credits: Calcasieu Parish District Attorney's Office
In the letters, Idlett showcased deep dissatisfaction with her life, as well as symptoms of a severe case of postpartum depression, a condition which, in its most dangerous form, can lead to thoughts of harming oneself or, in this case, the baby.
Image credits: Kaboompics.com/Pexels (Not the actual photo)
“I can’t stand this life. God had to punish me by letting me have that little brat,” she wrote in one of the letters.
“I wish I would have d*ed when he was born. I hate myself. Now I know how those people feel that get rid of their kids. I believe I could do it. I’m serious.”
Image credits: Alice Idlett/Facebook
Idlett’s correspondence became more and more intense, with messages that conveyed that she had already become physically ab*sive towards her son and was contemplating his d*ath regularly.
“I honestly wish he had never been born. He knows he won’t get his way around me. I’ll k*ll him before he becomes spoiled. I honestly mean that,” she wrote.
X-ray examination revealed several fractures. Despite this, authorities did not immediately suspect foul play
Image credits: Alice Idlett/Facebook
By December of 1969, Idlett was already planning the m*rder of her child, blaming his birth for how her life had turned out.
“I feel like if he would d*e tomorrow I wouldn’t care. He is the one who ruined my life,” she said of the barely one-year-old baby.
Image credits: Alice Idlett/Facebook
One month later, in January 1970, Idlett brought Earl to West Calcasieu-Cameron Hospital in Sulphur, Louisiana, claiming he was gasping for breath. Doctors took the baby for examination, and what they found shook them to the core.
Image credits: Alice Idlett/Facebook
X-rays revealed multiple skull fractures and a broken right shoulder, which meant the baby had been brutalized. Earl was placed in intensive care but succumbed to his injuries the following morning.
At the time, Idlett insisted that her son had fallen out of bed at his grandmother’s house weeks earlier.
Surprisingly, authorities did not immediately suspect foul play despite the baby’s body showing clear signs of ab*se—a key element in Idlett’s 2025 murder charge.
The baby’s father reopened the investigation after finding the letters and confronting the doctor who examined his son in 1970
Image credits: Alice Idlett/Facebook
In 1983, Earl Bunch, Jr. and Alice Robinson Idlett engaged in a contentious custody battle over the couple’s surviving daughter. During the process, the ex-husband discovered the gruesome letters, which completely changed what he believed to be true about his son’s d*ath.
Desperate for answers, he contacted the doctor who examined his son in 1970, confirming that the baby had been brought to the hospital in a “comatose condition” with human bite marks on his body, as well as burn marks on his buttocks.
Image credits: Alice Idlett/Facebook
“These were not the type of injuries I would have expected to see from a fall from a crib, for example, or a porch, or something like that where you get a fairly severe injury,” the doctor said in sworn testimony.
“It looked more like a child that had been beaten; that perhaps somebody had taken it by the feet, and swung it against a piece of furniture or the wall.”
The doctor also described Idlett’s demeanor that day as “stoic,” rather than the sadness and desperation one would expect from a mother in her situation.
Idlett is currently being held at the Calcasieu Parish Correctional Center on a $950,000 bond. It hasn’t been made clear whether she has entered a plea or retained an attorney.
"They all failed him." While many expressed relief at the mother's arrest, others wondered why it took so long
