Couple Arrested After 1-Week-Old Baby Is Found In Tar Bucket Behind Their Home, Authorities Say

A Texas couple has been arrested after their 1-week-old baby was allegedly found submerged in a bucket of tar behind their home, according to authorities.

The Collin County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of the Roland Grabowski, 42, and his wife Donna Grabowski, 41, after investigators made the disturbing discovery during a search of their home Saturday, according to a release from the department.

Authorities arrived at the couple’s Princeton home around 10 a.m. Saturday after receiving a call about the possible unreported death of an infant.

After obtaining a search warrant for the property, investigators found the remains of 1-week-old Micah Grabowski “submerged in a bucket of tar, located in a shed behind the residence.”

The couple initially “declined to cooperate” with investigators, authorities said.

They claimed their son was being watched by another family, according to an arrest warrant obtained by local station WFAA.

“There was an attempt to deceive us as to what had happened and the whereabouts of their child Micah,” Sheriff Jim Skinner told the station.

Donna and Roland Grabowski Photo: Collin County Sheriff's Office

They also allegedly texted another friend asking the friend to participate in the ruse.

“I need you to say your baby is ours. Quick in and out. They just need to see,” the text allegedly said.

But after they each were arrested and charged with a felony count of abandoning or endangering a child, they told investigators more about what they say led to the young baby’s death.

The parents told authorities they had been asleep on or around July 29 when they woke up to find their infant dead in their bed, authorities said in their statement. They said they failed to notify or report the death to any law enforcement agency and tried to conceal the death instead by wrapping him in a blanket and putting him into the tar bucket.

“I’ve been in this business over 30 years and I’ve been a lot of crazy things but this is the first time I’ve found a dead infant in a bucket of tar … and hopefully the last,” Skinner told the station.  

Oxygen.com reached out to the medical examiner’s office to learn more about the baby’s cause of death, but did not receive an immediate response.

In addition to the charge of abandoning or endangering a child, Donna is also facing two counts of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. She is being held at the Collin County Detention Facility on a $1 million bond, according to authorities.

Roland is also facing a charge of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and is being held at the detention center on a $850,000 bond.

It isn’t Roland Grabowski’s first run-in with the law. His criminal history dates back to 2001, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and includes previous sentences for aggravated sexual assault of a child, burglary and possession of controlled substances.