CHEYENNE (WNE) — A local day care worker has been charged with manslaughter over the swaddling death of an 8-month-old girl in her care.
Kristina Croy, 37, of Cheyenne was arrested on a warrant for voluntary manslaughter June 16 by Cheyenne Police Department officers. She was later charged with a single count of manslaughter for allegedly killing an 8-month-old child that was at her day care.
The manslaughter charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison and/or up to a $10,000 fine.
According to court documents:
On Sept. 25, 2019, the 8-month-old, M.G., arrived at the hospital via ambulance not breathing and without a pulse. After an autopsy, it was discovered M.G. died due to positional asphyxia, meaning she died because she couldn’t breath in the position she was placed in.
M.G. was at Croy’s day care, “It’s a Child’s World They Matter,” which was a home day care.
Croy put M.G. in a “little sleeper,” which is a device that zips up to a child’s neck and holds the arms down with a Velcro-like fastener.
Croy put M.G. in the swaddling device despite specific and numerous instructions from M.G.’s mother not to swaddle M.G. Infants who are old enough to roll on their own and can sit up on their own, such as M.G. could, also aren’t supposed to be swaddled.
Wyoming child care licensing rules also prohibit swaddling toddlers without a directive from a physician.
The swaddling device used on M.G. was recovered by officers and was listed as a size small, for 3- to 6-month-old infants weighing 13-18 pounds and was 22½ inches long. M.G. was 8 months old, 19 pounds and 25 inches long at the time of her death.
