Mankato father charged in death of 10-month-old son

MANKATO, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Mankato man has been charged in connection with the death of his 10-month-old son. 

Man arrested for role in infant's death

What we know:

According to the City of Mankato, the 26-year-old Omni Maxx Morningstar was arrested by Mankato police Monday for his alleged role in the death of his infant son. 

On Oct. 1, 2025, law enforcement responded to a home on James Avenue on reports that an infant wasn't breathing. The infant later died in the hospital. 

Morningstar was charged with one count of second-degree manslaughter on Tuesday. 

Charges detail infant's death

Dig deeper:

According to the charges, on the day of the infant's death, Morningstar had laid the infant face-down on a bed for a nap, and covered him with a nearly 20 pound weighted blanket at 11 a.m. 

Around 3:55 p.m., Morningstar went to check on the infant and found him "unresponsive and very warm" with the infant's temperature being 104.7 degrees. Morningstar did not check on the infant in those five hours. 

Court documents say Morningstar told authorities the infant had a history of getting fevers and had a "difficult time maintaining his temperature." Morningstar also said the infant was colicky, and that he used the weighted blanket to help. 

The infant had been to the hospital before for a high fever, due to overheating from having the weighted blanket on him, the charges said. Hospital staff had warned Morningstar about using the weighted blanket.

Morningstar told officers he had started using the weighted blanket four or five months prior to the infant's death, because the infant's legs were getting stronger, court documents said. Morningstar would allegedly fold the weighted blanket in different ways to apply more weight on the infant.

According to the charges, Morningstar went into his room, shut the door and put on headphones to talk to friends on Discord while the infant was asleep. He claimed he could still hear everything.

Morningstar's mother told officers they used weighted blankets on the infant, and that Morningstar had put a comforter on the infant's head before to muffle the sound of him crying.

About a month prior to the infant's death, Morningstar's mother came home and found the infant covered "head to toe" in a king-sized blanket, and the infant had a temperature of 104 to 105 degrees, so she called 911, court documents said. Morningstar told his mother he had forgotten about the infant because he was playing video games. 

When officers initially responded to the scene, Morningstar told the officers he had autism.

The medical examiner determined the cause of the infant's death to be probable asphyxia due to compression by a weighted blanket.

What's next:

Morningstar had a bail hearing Tuesday morning. His next court hearing is set for April 16.