Girl, 10, charged with manslaughter in Maine infant death
A 10-year-old girl was charged Thursday with manslaughter in the death of a 3-month-year-old infant whose mother said had ingested medication and been suffocated.
The girl, who is not being identified, is the youngest person to be charged with manslaughter in Maine in at least 25 years. The infant, Brooklyn Foss-Greenaway, of Clinton in central Maine, had been left overnight with an adult baby sitter in nearby Fairfield.
The sitter called police early July 8 to report that the infant was not breathing, authorities said. Emergency workers who arrived minutes later reported that child was unresponsive.
The death of any child under age 3 triggers an automatic investigation in Maine, and detectives uncovered some "troubling signs" before the state medical examiner declared the death a homicide, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
The death was declared a homicide Wednesday, but investigators withheld further details on the cause of death.
Brooklyn's mother, Nicole "Nicki" Greenaway, of Clinton, said the 10-year-old was the sitter's daughter. Authorities told her the baby had ingested medication to treat attention-deficit disorder and been suffocated, she said, adding that she also saw bruises on her daughter's body.
"I feel a little bit of relief that they're charging her daughter at this point, but the mom really needs to be responsible. She's the one I left my daughter with," Greenaway said.
The 10-year-old girl was already in the custody of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services when a summons was delivered to her attorney on Thursday, McCausland said.
Police declined to identify the girl, who is due in juvenile court in October. Her attorney didn't immediately return a call from The Associated Press.
Greenaway said that the 10-year-old had changed her baby's diaper in the past, but that she had told the sitter an adult needed to be present at all times. Instead, the infant, who was reportedly fussy that night, was sleeping in a portable crib in the same room as the 10-year-old, Greenaway said.
When Greenaway finally saw her daughter at a funeral home, the infant had a black eye, bruises on the bridge of her nose and marks that looked like fingerprints on her cheeks, she said.
McCausland said he couldn't comment on whether charges could be brought against the sitter. A person who answered the phone at a listing for her said Thursday evening that she was not available. The AP is not naming the sitter because it could make the juvenile suspect's identity known.
The charge against the 10-year-old was filed after detectives consulted with the attorney general's office, which determined manslaughter was most appropriate, said Brenda Kielty, a spokeswoman.
Unlike murder, which generally involves an intentional act, manslaughter charges are brought when a homicide is caused by reckless actions or criminal negligence.
The charge is extremely unusual because of the defendant's age.
The state doesn't have data on the youngest person ever to be charged in a homicide in Maine, Kielty said. But it's been at least 25 years -- and possibly longer -- since someone so young has been charged with manslaughter or murder in the state, officials said.
Nonetheless, such cases aren't unprecedented.
I'd like to know where the mother of this 10 yr old was when this was happening. It's such a tragic story all around.
Quoting owl0210:I'd like to know where the mother of this 10 yr old was when this was happening. It's such a tragic story all around.
She was sleeping in her own room. It said in the article that the baby was in a portable crib in the 10 year old's room.
Parents know when their children are jealous of othe children. I have done some sitting for neighbors. My oldest can be very jealous. I have said no to my neighbor who has a 6 month old baby because my daughter can be very mean toward her. I think that this girl's mother should have declined to babysit, or at the very least kept the aby in her own room.
I feel there is more to this story like how and when the baby ingested the ADD medication. Did the 10 yr old get up in the middle of the night to do all of this? Something is definitely off but that's JMO.
Quoting Veni.Vidi.Vici.:
Quoting owl0210:
I'd like to know where the mother of this 10 yr old was when this was happening. It's such a tragic story all around.
She was sleeping in her own room. It said in the article that the baby was in a portable crib in the 10 year old's room.
It says the baby was fussy... I'm thinking the sitter didn't hear the baby in the night, the 10 yo took matters into her own hands out of frustration. Just my guess. Either way, it's tragic. :(
Quoting owl0210:I feel there is more to this story like how and when the baby ingested the ADD medication. Did the 10 yr old get up in the middle of the night to do all of this? Something is definitely off but that's JMO.
Quoting Veni.Vidi.Vici.:
Quoting owl0210:
I'd like to know where the mother of this 10 yr old was when this was happening. It's such a tragic story all around.
She was sleeping in her own room. It said in the article that the baby was in a portable crib in the 10 year old's room.
I believe the 10 year old did dose the little one and hurt her also. IMO the mother is responsible.
My 3 year old took my cousin's bottle and put dog food in it. Many kids are capable and hardly naive.
1. I don't think that there is grounds for charging a 10 year old with a felony, as a child does not have adult capacity to understand their actions and consequences of them; that is why there is a juvenile court system.
2. I will venture out on a limb here and wonder if the ADD medicine was the girl's, which would further call into question the idea of capacity.
The mother of the 10 year old needs to be charged.
Holder to investigate....Holder
- muslimah
on Aug. 31, 2012 at 9:44 AM