Navy wife charged with manslaughter after 7-month-old she was babysitting in Hawaii military housing died from antihistamine overdose
HONOLULU, HAWAII: A Navy wife has reportedly been indicted on a charge of manslaughter in connection with the death of a 7-month-old baby girl she was babysitting in military housing in Hawaii.
Abigail Lobisch, daughter of an Army National Guard member, was found dead on February 24 at Dixie Denise Villa’s home in privatized housing at Aliamanu Military Reservation, part of US Army Garrison-Hawaii. According to court documents, an overdose of antihistamine was the cause of death.
Villa, 40, was reportedly indicted by a grand jury in Honolulu on August 1, according to Brooks Baehr, a spokesman for the Honolulu prosecuting attorney’s office.
Military Times reports that the indictment accuses Villa of “recklessly" causing the death of the child.
Her bail, originally set at $1 million, has been reduced to $500,000. Baehr said that it is likely that the court will schedule a date for Villa’s arraignment within the next few days.
An arrest warrant affidavit submitted by Honolulu Police Detective Ryan Kaio states that the medical examiner’s July 15 report determined that the baby’s blood tested positive for diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl and other similar medications, at a level of 2,400 nanograms per milliliter. That’s almost twice the 1,400 nanograms per milliliter concentration that is the average reported in infant fatal overdoses, according to the affidavit.
Villa allegedly told police officers that the only thing she administered to the baby was lotion on her skin. She was arrested on July 20 in connection with the death of the baby.
Sources who are familiar with the situation reportedly told journalists that Villa was not licensed or authorized to care for children in her home and that base officials had also ordered her to stop providing childcare in her home twice. This information has not been confirmed by officials.
A neighbor who lives near Villa’s home, where the child died, told reporters that the death came four days after she had filed a complaint accusing the provider of operating an unlicensed daycare. The neighbor, Katie Camario, reportedly said that Villa’s daycare was shut down at least three times before by base officials who allegedly found violations.
According to recent reports, defense officials are currently evaluating how military installations deal with unauthorized family childcare providers. The officials are reportedly also looking at whether any policy changes are required to deal with the problem. Military spouses who had expressed their concern about the childcare situation were informed about the basic details of these new efforts by a Defense Department official in a letter.
Army Garrison Hawaii officials have declined to comment on their investigation into the situation.