NORTH MANCHESTER, Indiana — A 4-year-old boy thought he had found a flashlight on his father’s bedside table.
He had not.
Those four words — “Oh, a flashlight” — are the last thing Charlie Stanley ever said before a loaded Canik 9mm handgun fired and took his life on May 30, 2025.
Now his father is going to prison for two decades, and a community is left grappling with a loss that never had to happen.
What Happened That Night
Charlie and his younger brother were being watched by a family member at the family’s apartment on Clear Creek Trail in North Manchester while his parents were out.
The family member was in the middle of changing the younger brother’s diaper when Charlie wandered over to the bedside table and began playing with the items on top of it.
She heard him say “Oh, a flashlight.”
She turned to see what he was holding.
The gun fired before she could reach him, striking Charlie in the torso. When first responders arrived, they found the child suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
His parents arrived home around the same time as police.
“He Was Always Leaving Them Out”
Mikayla Stanley, Charlie’s mother, instantly suspected what had happened when she walked in.
She reportedly told investigators that her husband was “always leaving them out” — referring to his guns.
According to court records, Nathan Stanley had gone shooting five days before his son’s death. When he came home, he left the 9mm along with two other handguns, a shotgun, and a rifle outside of a gun safe.
This was not the first warning sign.
Nathan had previously agreed to a child safety plan with the Department of Child Services that specifically addressed the importance of securing weapons inside the home. He did not follow it.
Mikayla told investigators she was “always getting onto Nathan about locking his guns up.”
Father Sentenced to 23 Years
Nathan Stanley, 27, pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent in connection with Charlie’s death.
On Friday, a judge sentenced him to 23 years in prison with three years suspended — meaning he will serve 20 years behind bars.
Mikayla Stanley, 26, faces the same charge. She is scheduled to go to trial next month.
A Little Boy Who Read Books to His Baby Brother
Charlie’s obituary remembered him as a “bright, charming child” who “delighted his family and all who knew him.”
Among his favorite things was reading picture books aloud to his younger brother — the same little brother who was in the room when Charlie died.
He was 4 years old.
His death is now part of a devastating pattern playing out across the country. Pediatric gun injuries remain one of the leading causes of death for children in the United States, and the majority of those incidents involve unsecured firearms inside the home.
Charlie’s story is a reminder of what is at stake every time a loaded gun is left within reach of a child.
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