On Monday, a toddler from North Carolina was put to sleep on her first day of daycare, and her mother received the call that no parent ever hopes to get.
On what a family acquaintance described as a “heartbreaking, nerve-wracking” day, the 16-month-old girl, only known as “Maddy,” was dropped off at the daycare by her mother on Monday.
While Maddy and another of her children were at the Creative Beginnings day care center in Lenoir, North Carolina, the mother, whose name was withheld from the public, reportedly got updates about them. Maddy never woke up from her slumber, so she received another call.
When emergency medical personnel got to Creative Beginnings, they tried to save Maddy’s life and kept trying until she was taken to a hospital. When she got there, they declared her dead.
As soon as possible, the Lenoir Police Department started looking into Maddy’s death. Police treated Maddy’s death as a criminal case when the county medical examiner performed an autopsy.
Alexandra Coffey, 29, a worker at Creative Beginnings, was charged with involuntary manslaughter by authorities on Wednesday. She was brought into jail at the Caldwell County Detention Center on a $500,000 secured bond after being detained without incident. According to the local news source, Coffey was due in court on Thursday.
According to reports, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services also suspended Creative Beginnings’ license. The agency said the suspension was necessary “because of the agency’s findings that the public health, safety, or welfare requires emergency action” in the order requiring the facility to close by Wednesday’s end of business.
During unplanned inspections, Creative Beginnings reportedly received three citations for safety infractions pertaining to CPR and first aid; nevertheless, the issues were resolved in September 2024.
The license for Creative Beginnings was rated five stars at the time of Maddy’s passing.
The daycare center was assisting in the investigation, according to the police.
