Nature of the Case
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Facts
D provided child care services in her home. She cared for Noah Colassaco, a fifteen-month-old child, and two other children. D had been caring for Noah for approximately three weeks and, throughout that time, had experienced difficulty in getting Noah to lie down and sleep during 'nap time.' Noah would stand in the crib and cry. D tried 'rocking him to sleep' and 'patting his back,' without success. On the day in question, D put Noah and another toddler she was caring for in their cribs for an afternoon nap at noon. At approximately 12:30 p.m., D returned to the loft to 'check on' Noah, who was still standing in the crib and crying. D decided to place a make-shift covering over the crib to prevent Noah from standing. After removing Noah from his crib, D placed a thirty-three and one-quarter pound, collapsed 'dog crate,' which ran the length of the crib but was substantially narrower, on top of the crib. Noakes reasoned that the crate's weight would prevent Noah from standing up in the crib. Satisfied that the crate could not fall into the crib, D removed the crate, put Noah back into the crib, and placed a fabric-covered piece of approximately one-inch thick cardboard on top of the crib. The cardboard was added, in part, to cushion the force of any impact between Noah's head and the crate if Noah attempted to stand. There was a small 'gap' in the rear between the crib's side and the cardboard. D then placed the dog crate on top of the cardboard, towards the front side of the crib, where it covered a little more than one-half of the crib's width. D examined the covering to ensure that Noah would not be able to reach into the dog crate and injure his fingers. Observing no problems, D left the loft. Sometime before 1:00 p.m., D heard a noise from the loft and returned to find Noah sitting in his crib but not sleeping, with his face pressed against crib's front, mesh side. D placed a toy in front of the crib to obstruct Noah's view 'so that he would not be looking for D but . . . would just get bored and go . . . to sleep.' D returned at 3:15 p.m. when she came to wake the other toddler from his nap. D believed that Noah was asleep since she did not hear any sounds from him when she awakened the other toddler. Shortly after 4:00 p.m., D returned to the loft to wake Noah and found him unconscious. He was standing with his chin resting on the side of the crib, one or both of his hands gripping the crib's side, and his head and neck wedged between the cardboard and the crib. His lips were blue, and his skin was cold to the touch. Noah was pronounced dead at D's home. The cause of death was 'asphyxia due to mechanical compression of neck.' D was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. On appeal, a divided panel affirmed the trial court's judgment. D appealed.
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