Charges Against 3 in Baby Death Dropped
A South Bay Municipal Court judge on Wednesday dismissed criminal child endangerment charges against a husband, wife and teen-age daughter who allegedly operated a Lomita day-care home where a 16-month-old girl strangled to death last year.
Judge Thomas P. Allen Jr. ruled there was insufficient evidence to try Robert and Linda Zieger and their daughter, Laura, in connection with the death of Michele Heasley.
Allen did order, however, that Linda Zieger, 47, and Laura Zieger, 19, stand trial June 19 on a lesser charge that they did not have a state license to operate a day-care business at their home.
The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum six-month jail sentence, compared to a six-year prison for felony child endangerment charges.
Allen said he was “deeply, deeply bothered” by the case, but felt the district attorney’s office had not proved gross negligence, the standard required for a felony conviction.
Michele died last November after being found unconscious in a crib where she had been left napping.
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