Two charged in fatal infant neglect cases

An Apple Valley day care provider and a Hastings man face manslaughter charges after two 3-month-old boys died last year in two separate infant neglect cases.

Janet Marie Kartheiser, 63, said she knew she shouldn't have placed Lucas Foster on his side, propped up against the side of the crib and swaddled, while she was taking care of him at her home day care in July 2014, according to a criminal complaint.

The infant rolled over to his stomach, which played a major role in his death two days later.

Dakota County prosecutors also charged Kartheiser for interfering with a death scene, a gross misdemeanor. They said she hid Lucas' swaddle blanket, receiving blanket and a quilt behind a garbage can because she knew she didn't have the required parental approval to use them where he slept.

The complaint said Kartheiser put the boy down for a nap shortly after noon when she went to prepare lunch for other children. A few minutes later, she reported seeing him rolled over onto his stomach inside the crib.

"He was making fussing noises, but then became quiet," according to the complaint. "Defendant left Lucas on his stomach because she believed he had fallen asleep and she did not want to disturb him because she had tasks to do around the residence."

Kartheiser estimated that between five and 20 minutes passed before she checked on him a second time, around 12:40 p.m., and found him unresponsive.

"He looked as if he had passed away because he was limp and his skin tone had changed," she told investigators.

Kartheiser acknowledged that she should have rolled Lucas over when she first noticed he was on his stomach, but didn't, according to the complaint. "She described her actions as 'unforgivable.'"

The day care provider also tried to resuscitate the baby before paramedics took over, but he died in a hospital two days later.

Kartheiser said she knew what she did was against licensing regulations. Licensing regulations require a caregiver to be within sight and sound of the children they are caring for at all times. They need to be able to intervene in a situation, if needed, to protect them from harm.

An autopsy determined that Lucas died of "positional asphyxia" due to "compromised sleeping environment," according to the complaint.

Kartheiser was a licensed day care provider from 2010 to 2014. The Department of Human Services revoked her license after the incident.

Hastings man charged with manslaughter in infant death

In a separate infant neglect case, prosecutors charged Paul Richard Sandell, 46, of Hastings, with second-degree manslaughter.

A criminal complaint said Sandell was caring for a family friend's 3-month-old, Gabriel Tseplaev, last April when the baby's mother returned home to find him face-down with his head under a down comforter.

Sandell told police he fed the boy a bottle about seven hours before the child's mother arrived, then he placed the infant on his bed, where they both fell asleep. He said he had taken pain-relief medication and was sleep-deprived that day, according to the complaint.

Responding law enforcement officers and paramedics were unable to resuscitate the child.

Both Sandell and Kartheiser are scheduled to make their first court appearances May 4.