DANE ABLEIDINGER - 3 months (8/2011) / Convicted: Beverly Ann Greenagel - Eagan MN

I know day care centers have had issues, but I've always felt way more comfortable with my kids in a center than in private day care. There just seems to be more checks and balances there... more people so it would be most difficult for someone to get away with something so stupid or dangerous. I don't know... just how I've always felt.

Day care worker sentenced to 45 days in jail after killing baby by lying him on his front on blanket  

Beverly Ann Greenagel jailed for 2-degree manslaughter of Dane Ableidinger
The three-month old died in August 2011 after being placed down for a nap

He died of 'positional asphyxia' as he slept on his front under a blanket

She later tried to cover up her mistakes by hiding blanket and telling 12-year-old helper to tell investigators the boy was on his back in a crib

Greenagel was caring for 20 children - six more than her license allowed
Judge: 'If you had done what you were supposed to do, we wouldn't be here'
Dane's fathertells court: 'Every choice Bev made was a selfish one'

By Daily Mail Reporter  PUBLISHED: 04:05 EST, 21 March 2014


Jailed: Beverly Ann Greenagel, from Eagan, Minnesota, was sentenced to 45 days in prison after three-month-old Dane Abledinger was found lifeless after being put down for a nap in August 2011

A 64-year-old day-care provider has been jailed over the death of an infant who suffocated in his sleep while under her supervision.

Beverly Ann Greenagel, from Eagan, Minnesota, was sentenced to 45 days in prison after three-month-old Dane Ableidinger was found lifeless after being put down for a nap in August 2011.

'If you had done what you were supposed to do, we wouldn’t be here,' Dakota County District Judge Michael Mayer told her. 'You need to understand: Dane died because of your actions.'

The court earlier heard how she had put him under a blanket on the floor - in direct contravention of both his parents wishes and the safe-sleep standards of her childcare license - while looking after 21 children at her home.

Under state rules, she should have been looking after no more than 15 children at one time, reported the Minnesota Star-Tribune.

A coroner later recorded the youngster's death as a result of positional asphyxia. He had been lying on his front under a blanket.

She also also reportedly tried to cover up her mistakes by folding away the bloodied blanket on which the baby died, and telling her 12-year-old helper to tell investigators that Ablei­dinger had been sleeping on his back and in a crib.

'Every choice Bev made was a selfish one,' said the baby’s father, Mac Ableidinger, during the hearing, 'thinking only of protecting herself.'

She was initially charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter, child neglect and endangerment, and interfering with a body.

Even after pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter, however, Greenagel denied she was responsible for the child's death during a pre-sentence hearing, which not only delayed her sentencing but prompted the prosecution to increase the amount of jail time from 30 to 45 days in the plea agreement.

'It has been 945 days since my heart has felt whole,' said Stephanie Ableidinger, who suffered seizures and panic attacks after her son’s death.


Short life: Dane Ableidinge was only three-and-a-half months old when he died; his autopsy revealed that he suffocated to death


Work from home: Greenagel ran her service, Bev's Day Care, from her home in Eagan, Minnesota

On the fateful day of August 8 2011, Greenagel, who at the time was watching six more children than legally allowed, did not check on the boy for an hour after putting him face-down for a nap, the court heard.

She was holding an annual water balloon fight with her older children and later told police she  moved him downstairs so he wouldn't get trampled.

Dane had apparently suffocated and was found where she left him on the flannel blanket.

According to the Minnesota Star-Tribune, Greenagel worked out of her home and ran Bev’s Day Care.

The paper reported that Greenagel laid Dane down to sleep on his stomach in one of the bedrooms in her house, perhaps because a child who had just awoken from a nap had soiled its crib.

A frantic 12-year-old girl who called 911 after Dane was discovered was recorded as saying: ‘Oh, um. There’s a baby dead.’


Loving parents: Mac and Stephanie Ableidinger asked for donations in lieu of flowers in memory of their young son

Records from the state showed that Greenagel allegedly tried to cover her tracks by taking the blanket Dane had slept on and stacking it with other blankets. Dane had left blood spots on it.

When police searched the house after obtaining a warrant, they found the blood stains and confirmed that they belonged to the infant.

According to the Inver Grove Heights Patch, Greenagel gave several varying accounts of the story to authorities. Greenagel had cared for the girl and was enlisting her help to care for the child. The Star-Tribune notes that caretakers must be at least 13.

Dakota County Attorney told the Star-Tribune: ‘It’s always disturbing to see children die under any circumstance, and it appears that proper monitoring and care could have avoided this tragedy.’

In Minnesota, 82 children have died in licenced day-care facilities in the past ten years.

Court documents show the caretaker was cited once in 1984 and again in 1994 for violating the terms of her licence. On April 6, 1984, Greenagel was found to have too many infants and toddlers in her care.

Three months later, a parent complained that the caregiver was often absent, and instead hired a 16-year-old girl to look after the children.

The parent alleged that Greenagel would often leave to go shopping, play racquetball, and go shopping while the girl was left to care for the infants and toddlers.

The parent added that ‘Bev’s’ home was a good place for their children, but they were upset she was not around.

A decade later, an unannounced licensor visit proved that she still had more children in her care than her license allowed.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2585973/Day-care-worker-sentenced-45-days-jail-killing-baby-lying-on-blanket.htm

Sad that she has not gotten more time.  The gorgeous little angel is gone and she basically gets off. I'm not a parent and never have been but at least I know one thing.  Never put your baby in a bed with a blanket, toys or anything.  The baby should be in a one'sy on it's back.  If you use a blanket then the baby should be supervised very second.  I believe that all baby's should have heart monitors when they sleep.  William

This sentence is a tragedy within itself.  So many judges put such little value on the lives of babies and children.  It's sickening.

The sentence is appalling. I hope she is not allowed to do daycare again. But with such a crazy sentence, she probably will. So sad.

20 little ones and she goes to have her hair done.  How would the judge feel if it were one of his children who she murdered with neglect and stupidity?