A Columbia woman who allegedly was operating an unlicensed and illegal daycare out of her home near Paris road has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for the May 25 suffocation death of a child in her care.
56-year-old Sarah Brown has been released from the Boone County jail, after posting a $15,000 bond. Boone County Judge Kayla Jackson-Williams has prohibited Brown from serving as a caregiver for any child unrelated to her, as part of the bond conditions.
The Columbia Police Department’s heavily-redacted four-page probable cause statement says Brown allegedly left the child for two-and-a-half hours in a crib with a loose unfitted blanket and pillow while being placed in a sleeping position that resulted in death by suffocation. Court documents say the child’s parents had given Brown instructions to have the child sleep on her back, due to being diagnosed recently with a viral lung infection that caused the child to cough and have difficulty breathing. The probable cause statement says Brown ignored their instructions and placed the child on her stomach to sleep.
Brown is also accused of lying to two Columbia police officers about finding the child on her back in the crib, not breathing.
The court document says Brown was operating an unlicensed and illegal daycare out of the home. It notes Missouri law states that a person must obtain a state license if you care for more than six children not related to you. Brown had 12 children in her care on May 25, the day of the suffocation death, according to the court document.
CPD says Brown was the only adult at the home caring for the children.
