Police bodycam footage captured the moment a heartbroken mother rushed to the side of her four-month-old son who died after being found covered in vomit at a daycare center.
Charlie Cronmiller was found unresponsive by authorities at Little Lovey children’s care facility in Dunwoody, Georgia on February 3, 2021.
Video obtained by authorities shows his mother Stephanie Cronmiller running towards an ambulance to be with him before he was transported to hospital where he later died.
Daycare owner Amanda Hickey, 48, pleaded guilty on September 22 to seven counts of first-degree child cruelty, seven counts of reckless conduct, one count of second-degree child cruelty and three counts of battery.
A judge sentenced her to 30 years in prison on October 13 for the murder of baby Charlie and the abuse of six other children in her care.
Police bodycam footage captured the moment mother Stephanie Cronmiller rushed to the side of her four-month-old son who died after being found covered in vomit at a daycare center
Charlie Cronmiller was found unresponsive by authorities at Little Lovey children’s care facility in Dunwoody, Georgia on February 3, 2021
Daycare owner Amanda Hickey, 48, was sentenced to 30 years in prison on October 13 for murder of baby Charlie and abuse of six other children in her care
The bodycam footage shows police responding to the incident with officers outside the property.
CPR was being done on Charlie in an ambulance as paramedics tried their best to save his life.
His mother Stephanie rushed to the scene and got out of a black car when she then sprinted towards the ambulance.
‘Go in the ambulance with them,’ an officer says to her. ‘Ma’am go in the ambulance, they’re getting ready to go. This is mom.’
Hickey was later seen being escorted out of the property and handcuffed as she was arrested for the murder of Charlie.
She operated the child care center from the basement of her Dunwoody home.
Hickey said she laid the baby on his back for a nap and told authorities he must have rolled over onto his stomach.
His mother Stephanie rushed to the scene and got out of a black car when she then sprinted towards the ambulance
Hickey was later seen being escorted out of the property and handcuffed as she was arrested for the murder of Charlie
Charlie was left unattended for more than two hours before he was found unresponsive and covered in vomit
But footage obtained revealed she had placed the baby on his stomach which is against the recommended medical guidelines for safe infant sleeping positions.
Charlie was left unattended for more than two hours before he was found unresponsive and covered in vomit.
Hickey pleaded guilty to the charges. She entered an Alford plea, which allows a person to maintain her innocence while acknowledging that it is in her best interest to plead guilty to charges of second-degree murder and second-degree child cruelty related to Cronmiller’s death.
‘There is no remorse,’ the baby’s mother, Stephanie told the court. ‘The only thing she’s sorry about is that she got caught.
‘I focus on forgiving myself because I chose her. How could I not think this was my fault?
‘I wish I could erase that day. I wish I had Charlie in my arms.’
Hickey said she laid the baby on his back for a nap and told authorities he must have rolled over onto his stomach
But footage obtained from the daycare center revealed she placed the baby on his stomach which is against the recommended medical guidelines for safe infant sleeping positions
Stephanie and Eric Cronmiller started Charlie’s Army in memory of their son
Charlie’s mother told the court: ‘I wish I could erase that day. I wish I had Charlie in my arms’
Another video showed Hickey swinging other babies by their feet, slamming them into the ground, pulling their hair, pushing and tripping toddlers, and placing others in unsafe positions for sleep, prosecutors said.
The victims ranged in age from 6 to 18 months.
‘I know that there is nothing I can say in words to take away their pain, except take responsibility and express extreme sorrow for what I’ve done,’ Hickey told DeKalb County Superior Court Chief Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ‘This is my legacy now.’
Hickey was licensed to care for six children, but prosecutors said 10 were inside her home the day Charlie died.