Background: The day care center in Red Bay, Ala., where a 4-month-old died in 2022 (Google Maps). Inset: Angelene Chamblee (Franklin County Sheriff”s Office).
An Alabama woman who owns the day care center where a baby girl died after being put face down for a nap faces nearly 30 felony charges.
Angelene Chamblee, 49, is the owner of the Tiny Tigers day care center in Red Bay, where 4-month-old Autumn Wells died in 2022 after an employee placed her face-down for a nap and then left her alone. That employee, Payton Gann, was found guilty of manslaughter in connection with Autumn’s death, while three other women who also faced charges took plea deals.
Local CBS affiliate WHNT reported that Chamblee was originally charged with six counts of child care act violation and two counts of forgery, but prosecutors chose not to prosecute in June. Six months later, the Franklin County District Attorney stated that there was new evidence that led to Chamblee facing 27 felony charges in connection with Autumn’s death.
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Chamblee was arrested on Wednesday and charged with one count of manslaughter, 18 counts of possession of a forged instrument, two counts of forgery, and six counts of operating a day care center without a license. She posted bond and was released the same day.
On March 9, 2022, Gann was the Tiny Tigers employee responsible for watching Autumn, along with Madison McCalpin. Gann placed Autumn on her stomach on a Boppy pillow then left the facility “for an extended period of time.” When Gann returned, the baby was unresponsive.
Autumn was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. The medical examiner said that when Autumn arrived at the hospital, her body temperature indicated that she had been dead for at least two hours.
McCalpin, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in exchange for her testimony against Gann, said that Gann and Gann’s mother told others to lie about where Autumn died. Teia Gann and Hannah Grace Letson were both charged with tampering with a witness and took plea deals.
According to a motion obtained by WHNT, the Franklin County District Attorney said that witness interviews and evidence uncovered as they prepared for Payton Gann’s trial merited another presentation of Chamblee’s alleged involvement in Autumn’s death to a grand jury.
Red Bay is a city in northeast Alabama along the state’s border with neighboring Mississippi.
