DUNWOODY, GEORGIA: Amanda Harris Hickey, a Georgia woman who ran a daycare, admitted guilty to leaving a four-month-old baby face down in a Pack 'n Play for a nap with fatal consequences.
On Friday, October 12, the 48-year-old woman was sentenced to serve three decades behind bars in the case, reports Law and Crime.
What are the charges against Amanda Hickey?
Hickey entered an Alford plea to second-degree cruelty to children, an Alford plea to second-degree murder, and guilty pleas to two first-degree cruelty to children charges in connection with the infant's death and several other incidents of abuse of children at the daycare.
She will be serving a 30-year prison time and an additional five years will be served on probation.
While expressing "extreme sorrow" for the death of the baby Charles 'Charlie' Arrison Cronmiller, Hickey who was the owner of Little Lovey Daycare in Dunwoody, said in court, "This is my legacy now."
On February 3, 2021, police and firefighters in Dekalb County received an emergency call about an unresponsive baby.
Police responded to the scene "within minutes" and they attempted to resuscitate Cronmiller, according to the Dunwoody Police Department.
However, the infant was pronounced dead at the scene.
Charlie Cronmiller's parents mourn the loss of their first-born son
Stephanie and Eric Cronmiller, parents of the four-month-old baby said he was their first-born son.
The infant began at the daycare Hickey ran out of her house "just up the street from their house" so Stephanie could go back to work.
"On February 3, 2021, Stephanie kissed Charlie goodbye on his soft chubby cheek as Eric left to drop him off," read the website Charlie’s Army which was started in the infant's memory initiated to protect other children.
"That afternoon, the daycare owner placed him down for his nap facedown against recommended medical guidelines for infant sleep positions, leaving him in distress and unattended for more than two hours prior to being found unresponsive."
Amanda Hickey wiped tears as she watched video of the baby being left alone before death
Hickey told investigators that the infant must have rolled over on his own as she claimed she put the four-month-old "on his back."
However, a video showed that the infant was left in the Pack 'n Play for a nap for two hours.
The defendant wiped tears from her eyes upon watching the video which was played in court on Friday, October 12.
Speaking in court at her sentencing, Hickey said "The person in those videos is me. That's not who I am, but I take absolute responsibility for my actions that day and my conduct that day," she said.
