Maine man charged with manslaughter in 1-year-old daughter's hypothermia death

A Maine father has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of his 1-year-old daughter of hypothermia last year.

Shane McLaughlin, 37, of Milford, was arrested Wednesday in connection with the Dec. 28, 2025 death of his daughter, Eleanora Ray McLaughlin, the Maine Department of Public Safety told News Center Maine. He was charged with one count of manslaughter and three counts of child endangerment.

An autopsy conducted by the state medical examiner’s office determined that the infant died of hypothermia, authorities said.

McLaughlin was taken to Penobscot County Jail and was expected to be arraigned at the Penobscot County Judicial Center in Bangor.

In an interview with News Center Maine back in December 2025, McLaughlin said he found his daughter dead in his Milford home on Dec. 28. He said he had been using a space heater in the room where he and three of his children were sleeping. He said after a pet opened a door, he could see his breath in the room.

The case drew the attention of state lawmakers, who questioned why the child wasn’t removed from the home following prior visits from the state Department of Health and Human Services.

State Sen. Jeff Timberlake said back in January that he had obtained a DHHS document from the child’s mother describing the living conditions in the child’s home, which he said included unsanitary and unsafe conditions for a child, like no running water.

“These poor kids need somebody to stand up for them,” he said at the time. “I believe that’s our job.”

The child’s mother, Erika Dupuis, told News Center Maine in April that she was “angry and upset” that McLaughlin, her estranged husband, had not yet been charged. Dupuis said she moved to West Virginia in the summer of 2025, leaving her children with their father in Maine.