Memorial for starved infant set up at Maritime Heritage Park

A memorial for a 3-month-old boy whom investigators say died from malnutrition and neglect has started at Maritime Heritage Park.

The memorial began Tuesday evening, Feb. 23, during a vigil as some community members called for harsher charges against the parents of Lucian Mykael Shields.

Cody James Shields, 23, and Brittany Shane Daniels, 22, were charged last week with second-degree manslaughter. They are out of jail after posting $10,000 bail.

Lucian died Dec. 8 at his Bellingham home. An autopsy showed the infant had almost no body fat and his stomach and small intestine were empty.

Second-degree manslaughter is when someone causes a death through criminal neglect. It’s a class B felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

However, under state sentencing guidelines the standard penalty for a person with no significant criminal record is 21 to 27 months in prison.

Shields had some brushes with the law as a juvenile, but that has been wiped from his record as an adult. Daniels has no criminal record.

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 3:13 PM with the headline "Memorial for starved infant set up at Maritime Heritage Park."