Dec 1, 2016
A Bloomington woman was convicted Wednesday of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment in the 2014 death of her daughter.
Elizabeth Potts, 22, was accused of leaving her then-11-week old baby dressed in a snowsuit in a car seat covered with a blanket overnight after she and her former husband returned home on Dec. 21, 2013.
Leah-Renee Crafton died about 11 months later of a seizure disorder linked to a brain injury she suffered during the suffocation, according to medical reports.
In his ruling, Judge Robert Freitag found that the evidence presented at a three-day bench trial last week supported the state's claims that Potts, who was 19 at the time, had been instructed by hospital staff and a pediatrician on the safe and proper way to put the baby to bed.
Potts also was convicted of one count and acquitted of a second count of obstruction of justice by lying to authorities about how the baby was put to bed.
That knowledge, coupled with the false statements Potts made to police and DCFS staff, showed that she knew her actions were wrong, said the judge.
In his comments on the verdicts, the judge also said, "There's no question the defendant had no intention to harm the child."
Potts cried through most of the 30-minute hearing and was comforted by family members as she left the courtroom. She remains free on bond ahead of a Feb. 21 sentencing where she could receive up to 14 years in prison, or probation.
Evidence and testimony during the trial supported allegations that the baby's death was caused by the mother's actions, said the judge. Leaving the baby in a car seat dressed in a snowsuit with a heavy blanket over her face was "just plain wrong and dangerous," said Freitag.
Potts' ex-husband Timothy Crafton pleaded guilty to child endangerment and was sentenced to two years in prison. He has since been released.