Babysitter Charged With Murder 19 Years Later

A concerned citizen told investigators the babysitter admitted to suffocating the baby in 1992, according to authorities.

Police have arrested a woman for the 1992 murder of a five-month-old baby, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney.

Upper Merion police arrested Melissa Haskell on Saturday for allegedly suffocating Ryan Baurley nearly 19 years ago while he was alone in her care.

On August 26, 1992, Haskell told police that she found Baurley unresponsive in his crib while she was babysitting. At the time, the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office determined the cause of death was Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

But police reopened the case in April after a concerned citizen came forward and told police that Haskell admitted to suffocating Baurley. Police then began using surveillance equipment to monitor the woman. In that time, she said that she said put her hand over the infant’s mouth causing him to suffocate, according to police.

Authorities say that after re-evaluating the original autopsy, the Montco Coroner found that there was bruising on Baurley’s brain and larynx and that he had a blood alcohol level of .04 at the time of his death.

A new death certificate lists the cause of death suffocation.

Haskell was placed in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility and will remain there until her preliminary hearing on August 30.
 

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