UPPER SOUTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A Pennsylvania woman has been sentenced after a baby died from car seat strangulation at an illegal day care in August 2019.
According to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office news release, Lauren Elizabeth Landgrebe, 50, has been sentenced to one to two years in county prison, which will be followed by 10 years of probation. Landgrebe has also been ordered to pay $1,758 in restitution, as well as to not contact the family of the victim. In addition, she cannot provide any childcare or babysitting services.
Landgrebe pleaded guilty in June to involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of children, operating a day care facility without a license and tampering with evidence, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.
WTXF said that on August 27, 2019, Landgrebe had placed the baby in a car seat incorrectly around 1 p.m. and then went out to the pool. She went back inside about an hour later and used a towel to prop up the bottle so the baby would eat without her, officials said per WTXF. Landgrebe went back outside for two more hours to check on the baby.
According to WTXF, investigators said that Landgrebe took a photo of the baby sleeping when she went in around 2 p.m. and later deleted it when her husband was calling 911 and performing CPR on the baby.
Investigators said the photo that was recovered showed the baby “slumped low in the car seat with the chest strap around her neck,” according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office. The photo also showed that the leg straps were not “engaged” either, which could have prevented the baby from sliding down. The coroner found a mark during the autopsy that was consistent with the chest strap buckle on the baby’s neck and determined that the baby died from “asphyxiation by strangulation,” per the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.
According to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, the baby was one of eight children in Landgrebe’s care that day.
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