A Alabama daycare owner has been charged with 27 counts connected with the death of a 4-month-old baby at the center in 2022.
Angelene Chamblee was initially charged with six counts of child care act violation and two counts of forgery after the child, Autumn Wells, died at Tiny Tigers Daycare in Red Bay in March 2022, WHNT reported.
Four other women had also been also charged in connection with the case, and three of those took plea deals. The Franklin County District Attorney’s Office filed its motion to stop the initial prosecution against Chamblee in early June, saying that it had uncovered “an extensive amount” of new evidence while preparing the case against the fourth woman and said it planned to present a new case to the grand jury.
The fourth woman, Payton Gann, was found guilty of manslaughter that month and was sentenced to six years in prison in September.
Chamblee was indicted on Wednesday on 18 counts of possession of a forged instrument, two counts of forgery, six counts of operating a daycare without a license or a permit, and manslaughter.
The baby was rushed to a local hospital on March 9, 2022, and an autopsy determined that she died after being left on her stomach on a “boppy” pillow for an extended period of time.
According to Law&Crime, Gann and another daycare employee, Jade McCalpin, were watching the baby. Gann put the child on the pillow and left the facility “for an extended period of time.” When she returned, the child was unresponsive. A medical examiner said the child had been dead for at least two hours when she was brought to the hospital.
McCalpin pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge in exchange for testifying against Gann. She testified that Gann and Gann’s mother told other’s to lie about what happened.
Two other women, including Gann’s mother, pleaded guilty to tampering with a witness, Red Bay News reported.
Chamblee was booked into jail on Wednesday and bonded out the same day.
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[Featured image: Angelene Chamblee/Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and Autumn Wells/handout]
