Delaware daycare worker smothers 4-month-old girl to death because she 'wouldn't stop crying', charged with first-degree murder
A 19-year-old woman who allegedly killed a baby girl at a Bear childcare center on September 5 after she wouldn't stop crying has now been charged with first-degree murder.
According to court documents, Dejoynay M. Ferguson was caught on surveillance footage at Little People Child Development Center picking up the four-month-old infant and placing her on a changing table, Delaware Online reports. The documents said Ferguson was then seen putting her hands on the child's face for over three minutes while wearing latex gloves. When she removed her hands from the baby's face, the child was "unresponsive and motionless". Ferguson then placed the child in a crib, according to police.
"After approximately 20 minutes Ferguson advised the owner of the facility that the victim was unresponsive at which time a call was made to 911," Delaware State Police Master Cpl. Michael Austin said in a statement. Court documents also state Ferguson's initial story was different from what transpired on the surveillance footage. However, she later told investigators that she did so because the child became "fussy" and wouldn't stop crying.
The death occurred at about 10:30 a.m. Thursday, September 5, at the center at 3843 Wrangle Hill Road in Bear, according to state police. “Yesterday a family’s world was changed forever. As a parent personally, I’m heartbroken for them,” Austin added. “As a spokesperson for Delaware State Police, I can ensure you that everyone within this agency feels the same way.” Meanwhile, the license of the center has been indefinitely suspended by the Office of Childcare.
That said, the Little People Child Development Center had no "noncompliance issues" noted during its May inspection, according to Joseph Smack, a spokesperson for the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families. Furthermore, all of its employees had passed the necessary background checks, including Ferguson. According to court records, Ferguson had been assigned to the "infant room", where she picked the infant up from off the floor.
Ferguson is currently being held at Baylor Women's Correctional Institution in lieu of a $1 million bond on a charge of first-degree murder.