An Oregon woman was found guilty of criminally negligent murder when an 11-month-old in her unlicensed day care died after being “squeezed” into a swaddle that was “too small for his size.”
Teresa Louise Biswanath, 46, has been sentenced to two years in jail after the baby died on August 30, 2022, according to a press release issued Tuesday by the Washington County District Attorney’s Office. The long-time day care worker has been barred from ever running her own child care center again.
Prosecutors claim the boy was in her care when she “squeezed [him] into a swaddle much too small for his size” since it was “designed for newborns less than three months old who could not roll over or crawl as he could.”
“On the day of the child’s death, the defendant was looking after five children, including the victim. During nap time, the defendant crammed the victim into a swaddle that was far too tiny for his size, designed for newborns under three months old who couldn’t roll over or crawl like he could. “She bound the child’s arms with straps and placed a pacifier with a 6-inch stuffed animal attached in his mouth,” authorities stated after her conviction.
“The defendant originally attempted to get the youngster to sleep in the same room as the other children, but eventually moved him to a bedroom on the second floor of the house. She positioned him facedown on the bed, his arms restrained by the swaddle and a pacifier in his mouth. “The victim was upstairs for at least an hour while the defendant was in and out of the bedroom.”
Later, prosecutors allege she discovered the baby boy “blue and unresponsive,” causing her to perform CPR before calling her husband for help. Unfortunately, he was unable to be resurrected and died.
Biswanath claimed to have previously worked at a “well-known childcare center” where she had “extensive training, including safe sleeping techniques for infants.”
She is prohibited from ever managing a licensed childcare center and will serve three years of post-prison supervision.
Reference: Horror as 11-month-old dies after being squeezed into too-small swaddle at day care
