Baby Sitter Is Charged in Child’s 1992 Death After Informant Tells of Confession
Five-month-old Ryan Baurley’s death in 1992 was originally attributed to sudden infant death syndrome, despite alcohol in the child’s blood and bruising to his brain and larynx.
Now authorities in Montgomery County, Pa., have reclassified the cause of death and have charged the child’s onetime babysitter, Melissa Haskell, report the Philadelphia Inquirer and PhillyBurbs.com. The Inquirer says the charge is murder and gives Haskell’s town as Bridgeport. PhillyBurbs.com says the charge is third-degree murder and Haskell lives in Upper Merion.
Prosecutors acted after an informant, identified only as a “concerned citizen,” told authorities this April that Haskell had confessed 10 years ago that she was responsible for the death. Haskell allegedly said she was going through heroin withdrawal and that Ryan Baurley’s crying was getting on her nerves. She is accused of giving the child whiskey, then covering his mouth and smothering him.
Haskell reportedly admitted being a heavy heroin user in an interview with detectives, but said she did not suffocate Ryan Baurley, according to PhillyBurbs.com. She allegedly said she gave the child alcohol because he was teething.
