MINNEAPOLIS -- A daycare provider and her daughter were each found guilty of two counts of manslaughter Wednesday, in the death of a 22-month-old boy who was in their care.
Doris Meeks, 48, and her daughter Harmony Newman, 22, were convicted by a Hennepin County jury of Manslaughter in the Second Degree (while committing child neglect), and Manslaughter in the Second Degree (while committing child endangerment). They will be sentenced December 21st.
Both Meeks and Newman were acquitted of Manslaughter in the Second Degree (while committing culpable negligence).
Meeks was the owner and operator of Mama D's daycare in Bloomington. In August of 2008 she left the home to do an errand, leaving Newman to take care of 23 children. The daycare was only licensed for 14.
Authorities were called to the home on reports of a child not breathing on August 28th, 2008. They found 22 month old Demar Hicks not breathing. Investigators found he had been strapped into a car seat and placed in a playpen in the basement. The medical examiner later ruled the boy had choked on one of the straps and in February of 2009 a grand jury indicted both Meeks and Newman.
The case was prosecuted by Dakota County because one of the victim's relatives works for the Hennepin County Attorney's office.
Dakota County Attorney Jim Backstrom reacted to the verdicts, saying "The neglectful actions of these two day care providers led to the tragic death of Demar Hicks. You simply can't leave a child of that young of an age unattended in this manner. It is to prevent tragedies like this that rules exist as to how many adults must be present and how many children can be cared for in licensed day care settings, and these rules were violated in this instance."
(Copyright 2009 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)
