Hawaii babysitter convicted of manslaughter after giving baby girl Benadryl overdose in 2019

A babysitter Hawaii He was convicted in the 2019 death of a 7-month-old girl who authorities said died of a Benadryl overdose.

An Oahu jury found Dixie Denise Villa guilty of involuntary manslaughter on Friday, the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office said in a press release. He faces up to 20 years in prison ahead of sentencing in February, his lawyer confirmed to USA TODAY on Tuesday morning.

His trial began on November 6, according to the Ministry of Public Prosecution. The assistant prosecutor requested that his bail be increased to $500,000 and that Villa be detained until sentencing. The ministry said Judge Faʻauuga Toʻotoʻo granted the request on Friday.

The victim was a 7-month-old baby girl, identified in court documents as AL, who died on Feb. 24, 2019, according to a document filed in the First Circuit Family Court in Hawaii.

The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy on the girl’s body days after her death, and the results were sent to police about four months later.

The girl’s blood tested positive for 2,400 milliliters of diphenhydramine, which was found in Benadryl, according to the medical examiner’s office. The average blood concentration reported in past fatal overdoses among infants was 1,400 milliliters, according to court documents.

In the report, the medical doctor noted that the drug “should not be used in children (under 6 years of age) to put the child to sleep or in combination with other products containing diphenhydramine.”

Babysitter told police little girl didn’t experience anything traumatic

The investigation into the baby’s death began Feb. 24, 2019, in Honolulu, according to court documents. Someone called a Honolulu Police Department officer to a home and told him the little girl was dead and her body was found under a blanket on the first floor of the home.

The document shows that defendant Villa babysat the child and his older brother. He told officers that the children’s mother had dropped them off at a resort around 11 a.m. the previous day.

After Villa and the children spent the day at the pool, they went to Villa’s house at 18:00 in the evening. Inside the house were Villa, the two children she was babysitting, and her own two children. They all appeared “happy and well,” the documents said.

Villa said the children were sunburned and applied Bath & Body Works lotion to the children. He also noted that he fell asleep on the couch while the children were playing in the playroom. He then took them all upstairs to sleep, according to the documents.

The next day at 8.30am, her son woke her up and told her that he had woken up all the children. That’s when Villa noticed the girl’s skin was discolored and “spotty.”

“Villa picked up (the girl) and realized something was wrong,” court documents said. “He called 911 and performed CPR several times and the operator explained what to do.”

She walked away when emergency responders arrived, and the emergency room doctor pronounced the girl dead at 8:55 a.m. that day.

The baby girl was sleeping face down on her chest, and three other children were with her that night, according to Villa’s statement. The baby girl did not wake up throughout the night. Although the baby girl normally woke up at night, Villa thought she was tired from being in the sun all day.

Speaking to investigators, Villa said the girl did not experience anything traumatic or unusual at the facility and did not experience anything at home. However, he said the girl might have been sunburned.

According to court documents, investigators also interviewed the girl’s mother; The mother said the baby was an “extremely healthy baby” and had only gotten sick a few times.

Prosecutor: Babysitter fired her daughters who were supposed to help care for the children

According to Villa, she had agreed to watch the children overnight from February 23 to 12:30 February 24. Villa told authorities that her two daughters (one adult, the other a minor) were there. His daughter’s friend was also there.

One of the girls had to leave the city, and the other stayed at a friend’s house. Villa, her own two children, and the two children she was babysitting were left at home.

However, during closing arguments, Prosecutor Tiffany Kaeo He said he could have gotten help taking care of the children if Villa had not kicked out his daughters and friends. Kaeo told the court that they should help her take care of her children.

Also during closing arguments Defense counsel Megan Kau He said no one has said for sure how the baby died and they have not confirmed who gave the baby the medicine.

“The government has the burden of proving this beyond a reasonable doubt,” he told the court. “I’m going to ask you to find him not guilty because no one told us what happened.”

Villa currently faces 20 years in prison and his sentence is set for February 26, 2025, according to the Ministry of Public Prosecution.

“There is nothing more important than protecting our keik and holding accountable those who harm them,” prosecutor Steve Alm said in a press release. “I commend the work of the Honolulu Police Department and the Federal Fire Marshal’s Office, as well as Assistant Prosecutors Tiffany Kaeo and Joel Garner, for successfully prosecuting this case.”

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s NOW team. He is from Norfolk, Virginia – 757. Follow him on Twitter: @SaleenMartin or email him [email protected].

This article first appeared on USA TODAY: Hi babysitter found guilty of manslaughter after baby overdoses on Benadryl