An Upper Southampton woman admitted to being responsible for the death of an 11-month-old baby in her illegal home day care more than two years ago.
On Tuesday, Lauren Elizabeth Landgrebe, 50, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Victoria Watson, of Warrington, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office. She also pleaded guilty to child endangerment, operating a facility without a license and a misdemeanor of tampering with evidence.
Township police said Victoria was improperly restrained in a car seat for at least two hours at Landgrebe’s home in the 1500 block of Rosebud Road on Aug. 27, 2019. She died from asphyxia caused by improperly positioned car seat restraints.
At the time, Landgrebe was watching eight children, ages 11 months to seven, during the incident, according to authorities.
“Understandably so, the emotions associated with this tragedy were overwhelming for everyone involved. No one associated with the events of Aug. 27, 2019 will ever be the same,” Landgrebe’s attorney Louis Busico said. “My goal was to resolve this case for Lauren so she could return to her husband and children as quickly as possible.”
Sentencing was deferred for 20 days.
Landgrebe faces trial:Upper Southampton woman charged in 11-month-old’s day care death faces trial
Landgrebe charged:Upper Southampton woman charged in death of 11-month-old at home day care
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The DA’s office said Landgrebe’s husband called 911 just after 4 p.m. after finding the baby unresponsive in a partially strapped car seat on the dining room table. She was taken by ambulance to Abington Hospital, where she was pronounced dead about 5:15 p.m.
Investigators determined she placed Victoria in the car seat for a nap about 1 p.m. that day. She became fussy because she had not eaten, and at 2 p.m. Landgrebe gave the baby a bottle.
Victoria was unable to hold the bottle herself, so Landgrebe propped it up on a rolled hand towel, court documents state. She then went to the pool on her property to watch the older children while the younger ones slept. She did not check on Victoria for another two hours, police said.
At some point after 2 p.m., Landgrebe took a picture of Victoria, which she deleted while her husband was on the phone with 911, according to authorities. Police have said Landgrebe sent the photo of the girl on SnapChat with the caption that said Victoria had a “rough night.”
The photo was recovered, and police said it showed Victoria slumped low in the car seat with the chest strap around her neck. The car seat leg straps, which would have stopped her from sliding down the seat, were not used, according to authorities.
In a later police interview, Landgrebe admitted to running an unlicensed day care center from her home for 10 years, investigators said.
Landgrebe charged parents $60 to $80 per week, or $10 an hour, to watch the children. Investigators said she never reported her income to the government.
She was charged with theft and receiving stolen property because she has been receiving social security disability payments for about 10 years and never reported her extra income, according to officials. She pleaded no contest to receiving stolen property Tuesday. Her theft charge was dismissed.
Landgrebe has been free on 10% of $500,000 since she was charged in December 2019, according to court records.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Woman pleads in Upper Southampton illegal day care death of baby girl