Baby dies in the care of woman watching 13 kids at illegal day care, Virginia cops say
A child was found dead at an illegal day care where a woman was watching 13 kids at her home, Virginia deputies said.
Now, 53-year-old Denise Stewart has been charged with 13 counts of abuse and neglect of children, one for each child found at the home, court records show.
First responders found the child not breathing in Stuarts Draft on Oct. 18, 2022, the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office said in a Jan. 31 news release.
They tried resuscitating her but couldn’t. After a “lengthy investigation,” the medical examiner ultimately couldn’t determine the manner of the child’s death, deputies said.
The child’s family identified her as 1-year-old Ava Cloonan, who had a twin brother.
“Ava was the sweetest, funniest and smartest little girl you could ever meet,” her family wrote in her obituary. “Her big smile and contagious laugh was the first thing you would notice.”
They called her death “tragic and unexpected.”
The sheriff’s office and Child Protective Services began looking into the circumstances surrounding the girl’s death, as well as “the use of this residence as an at-home childcare facility,” deputies said in the release.
They found the woman was caring for 13 kids at the time of Cloonan’s death, which violates the state’s legal caregiver-to-child ratio, according to the release.
Initially, Stewart told investigators there were only five children at the home, but later told CPS there were 12 kids at her child care facility, the News Leader reported.
Stewart was indicted on Jan. 22 on the 13 child abuse and neglect charges, as well as two counts of welfare fraud, records show.
Her attorney information is not listed in court records. She was arrested Jan. 26, then released on bond, according to the sheriff’s office.
Stuarts Draft is about 100 miles northwest of Richmond.
This story was originally published February 1, 2024 at 12:59 PM with the headline "Baby dies in the care of woman watching 13 kids at illegal day care, Virginia cops say."