ELIANA NAVY - 3 months - Apex NC

Autopsy inconclusive as to baby's death at day care

APEX---
An autopsy of a 3-month-old girl found unresponsive and face-down in a
crib at an Apex day care is inconclusive about her cause of death.Eliana
Navy was pronounced dead Oct. 26 shortly after emergency dispatchers
were alerted that a child at Judy's Home Care was not breathing.State
medical examiners, in an autopsy report released this week, said
factors support a diagnosis of sudden infant death syndrome, but "the
circumstances of how the child was placed to bed are not entirely
clear."
"Specifically, this case reportedly involves
the death of a previously healthy infant after she was put to bed, who
died while sleeping," the autopsy states. "However, given that the
child was reportedly found face down and that there is some uncertainty
as to the circumstances surrounding the death," raising the possibility
that the child died from asphyxiation, the autopsy states, "the cause
of death in this case is best classified as 'undetermined.'"The
death of the child prompted state officials to suspend the license of
the center operated by Judy R. Lucas at 1300 Laura Duncan Road.June
Locklear, chief of the regulatory services section in the N.C.
Department of Health and Human Services Division of Child Development,
said in the notice to Lucas that state officials had determined her
center wasn't safe for children.

Apex, N.C. — Apex police are investigating a home day care after a child being cared for there died, said police spokeswoman Capt. Ann Stephens.
Authorities were called to Judy's Home Care, at 1300 Laura Duncan Road, on Oct. 26 on a report that a 3-month-old girl had stopped breathing. The child, Eliana Navy, was taken to WakeMed, where she died, Stephens said.
The state Department of Health and Human Services inspected the home after the child's death and found 17 violations ranging from inadequate supervision of children to the lack of an operating smoke detector and more minor issues related to record keeping.
DHHS suspended the license of owner and operator Judy Lucas the next day.
In a letter to Lucas, DHHS noted "conditions at the home represent immediate danger to the health, safety and welfare of children" being cared for there.
Lucas answered the door there Wednesday, but declined to comment.
Police are waiting on the final report on an official cause of death before completing their investigation.
"A provider of day care, just like any other person that provides care for children, ... certainly has certain standards of care that are expected to be met," Apex Police Chief Jack Lewis said.

APEX, N.C. -
Weeks after an infant's death, an Apex woman is facing four felonies related to her home-based daycare center.
Judy Lucas is accused of violating state daycare rules for more than two consecutive days -- on four separate occasions.

Lucas faces four felony counts in violation of providing child care for more children allowed by law on more than two consecutive days. Police are being pretty vague about exactly what led to the charges, other than to say she violated General Statute 110, Article Seven, which deals specifically with regulating child-care facilities.

Earlier this month, Judy Lucas had her license suspended during the investigation of the death of 3-month-old Eliana Navy. The Medical Examiner's office is still determining the cause of the child's death.
Police, though, say none of the felony charges are specifically related to that incident.
"The death of the child did not occur on one of the dates that's cited in these particular charges," said Apex Police Chief Jack Lewis.
The death investigation did lead to these charges, though: initial reports by Apex Police and the Department of Health and Human Services and Child Protective Services uncovered 17 separate violations at Lucas's home-based daycare center.
A state inspection found there was inadequate supervision, soiled diapers on a couch, frayed electrical wires and exposed wood with small nails where a carpet had been ripped out.
"We have a responsibility to protect those people in our society who aren't sometimes able, because of their age or their condition, to protect themselves," said Lewis.
Several neighbors said they were shocked to hear about Lucas being charged, noting she's well known in the neighborhood for being an exceptional caregiver.
"All we can do is pray that justice prevails because this is a woman that loves kids and treats them in the way that you would want your child to be treated," said Debbie Whorley.
Lucas was out this morning on a $5,000 bond and told NBC17 she had no comment.
There was also no comment from someone answering the door at Eliana's home.

Lucas was taken to the Wake County Jail and held on $5,000 secured bond and has been released.

Red emphasis is mine- IMFO

Cause undetermined in infant's day care death

"Apex, N.C. — Wake County medical examiners can not determine what caused the October death of a 3-month-old girl at an Apex day care, although some signs point to sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS."...


..."the cause of death in this case is best classified as 'undetermined,'" the autopsy concludes.

Lucas has not been charged in the girl's death. She faces four felony charges stemming from state health inspections done before Eliana's death."

http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/6720392/

Owner of day care where infant died faces charges

Apex, N.C. — Apex police have charged the owner of a home day care where a 3-month-old died last month with violating state day care statutes....

http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/6486313/