Three-Month-Old Baby Boy Dies On First Day At An Illegal NYC Daycare
Hours after Lee Towndrow and his girlfriend Amber Scorah dropped off their baby boy at an unlicensed daycare facility in New York City, he was pronounced dead after being put down for a nap, according to Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
Early Monday morning on July 13, 3-month-old Karl Towndrow arrived for his first day of daycare at SoHo Child Care on 69 Greene Street. It was also Scorah’s first day back at work from maternity leave.
A 3-Month-Old Baby Died Mysteriously on His First Day at Daycare http://t.co/lMLw0n1M6O pic.twitter.com/q5QcblO8bU
— Cosmopolitan (@Cosmopolitan) July 15, 2015
According to the owner of the daycare, Maryellen Strautmanis, she stated that she fed him a bottle of milk at 10:30 a.m. in which his mother had left for him. Afterwards, she placed him in a bassinet for his nap at around 11:45 a.m.
When 12:15 p.m. approached, she discovered baby Karl unresponsive and his lips had turned blue. He was rushed to Lenox Hill Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Medical staff says he went into cardiac arrest and could not be saved. However, the daycare owner – who operated the facility for 13 years without having a license – claims he showed no signs of “airway obstruction, bruises or trauma.”
Although the SoHo Child Care facility was unlicensed, it was recommended to Towndrow and Scorah by friends.
“I have the utmost respect for each individual child,” the SoHo Child Care owner Strautmanis wrote on her website. “I endeavor through humor, flexibility, and consistency, to make each day a joyful experience.”
On Tuesday, SoHo Child Care was ordered to be shut down due to being an unlicensed facility.
After the daycare death, Towndrow and Scorah’s friends and co-workers created a Go Fund Me page to help with funeral expenses. They wrote: “Karl was beloved by his parents, who doted on him every moment. He was their joy and brought happiness to everyone who met him.”
“His family and friends are grieving but are taking comfort in knowing they knew this sweet, innocent soul, even if it was all too brief.”
Within 24 hours, the couple managed to raise $23,000 in donations for the death of their baby boy.
New York police officials are investigating the death of 3-month-old Karl Towndrow, and the medical examiner is currently conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
The investigation is ongoing.
[Image courtesy of Amy the Nurse / Flickr / Creative Commons]
