Left inset: Dixie Denise Villa in court. Right inset: Abigail Lobisch. Background: The Hawaii military reservation where Dixie Villa gave Abigail Lobisch a lethal dose of Benadryl (Hawaii News Now/YouTube).
The U.S. Army has agreed to settle a lawsuit with a mom and soldier dad who said their 7-month-old daughter was given a lethal dose of Benadryl at an “unauthorized” daycare on a Hawaii military base.
Anna Lobisch and Army National Guard member James Lobisch, parents of Abigail Lobisch, sued the Army in 2020 after Abigail’s death in February 2019 in the Aliamanu Military Reservation, a “privatized military housing community” on the island of Oahu that is “administratively controlled by U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii,” according to federal court filings.
Abigail died at the home of unlicensed daycare operator Dixie Denise Villa, who was convicted of manslaughter in 2024 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
“Plaintiffs allege that defendants are liable for A.L.’s death because they failed to prevent Ms. Denise Villa, an Aliamanu resident, from operating an unauthorized daycare from her on-base home,” the U.S. Justice Department said in an August petition for the approval of a $900,000 settlement agreement.
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“In 2017 and 2018 there were various reports made regarding unauthorized childcare in the Villa home, and in response the Army sent multiple cease-and-desist letters,” the filing says. “On Saturday, February 23, 2019, Anna Lobsich left A.L. in Denise Villa’s care overnight. A.L. slept in the bed with Denise Villa. The next morning, she awoke to find A.L. cold and unresponsive and called 911. A.L.’s death was determined to be the result of Denise Villa administering a lethal amount of diphenhydramine, an ingredient in Benadryl.”
According to prosecutors, children under the age of 6 should never get that medicine without a doctor’s orders.
“The amount of Benadryl found in the blood system of baby Abi shouldn’t be given to any minor, much less to a baby seven months old,” said Judge Faaunga To’oto’o at Villa’s sentencing in May 2025, according to The Navy Times. “Those are the facts in this case.”
Anna Lobisch told reporters the day Villa was sentenced that her heart “has never stopped hurting” following Abigail’s death. “My life has been defined by grief and loss and the pain of living without Abi is a heavy weight I will carry every single day for the rest of my life until Abi and I are finally reunited,” she said, according to The Military Times. “I’ll never hear her call me mama.”
Villa was accused of “not providing safe care for children,” with witnesses alleging that they saw “multiple children crying and screaming, without adult supervision, in the backyard of the facility,” according to the Lobisch complaint. On one occasion, a little boy was observed “crying because his head was stuck in a play structure,” per the complaint.
“[The boy] had been essentially abandoned until other little children were able to free him,” the complaint said.
Abigail’s parents, as well as prosecutors, accused Villa of giving the baby girl a “lethal dose” of Benadryl in order to make her “lose consciousness.”
“At all times, defendants … knew or should have known that Ms. Villa’s illegal child care business was exposing children to unreasonable risks, and thus had a duty to notify Child Protective Services, but failed to do so,” the Lobisch complaint said.
In addition to the Army, Anna Lobisch and James Lobisch sued Island Palm Communities, a contractor that owned and managed Villa’s housing. Court records show that the involved parties announced on Oct. 9 that they were “continuing to work on finalizing their settlement agreement terms and conditions” between Island Palm Communities and the Lobisch family.
The post Baby who couldn’t sleep was given ‘lethal dose’ of Benadryl by woman running ‘unauthorized’ daycare on military base, now the Army is paying for it: Docs first appeared on Law & Crime.
