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Claire Gelin was babysitting the victim from Feb. 15 to Feb. 19 in her Irvington apartment, Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens, II said. The child sustained serious from physical abuse on Feb. 17 and Feb. 18, but Gelin did not call 911 until Friday, Feb. 19, Stephens said.
By the time first responders arrived, the child was in cardiac arrest and was rushed to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center where it was pronounced dead, Stephens said. Gelin told detectives the injuries were caused by the victim, but that was contradicted by medical experts, Stephens said.
In a petition at Change.org, Gelin said she was asked to watch the toddler by its mother, who was going through a tumultuous relationship with the baby's father. Gelin said the parents got into a physical fight and the toddler was caught in the crossfire. Gelin was originally supposed to watch the toddler for only day she said.
The toddler was showing sign of distress and refused to eat, Gelin said. She tried to explain to the baby's the mother that he needed to see a doctor as soon as possible, but was told she would have to watch the toddler for the rest of the week, she said.
Gelin said she didn't take the toddler to a doctor because she didn't drive and there was a snowstorm in the area restricting travel.
"I was in the bathroom when I heard a loud noise and my son shouted that [the toddler] had fallen," Gelin, a mother of two, said.
"Upon rushing out, I found him with a severe head injury. My son and I did everything we could to assist him while I called for an ambulance as I do not speak English. We were in disbelief as we had been trying to prevent any harm to him, yet he sustained a serious injury on the day he was meant to depart. I was heartbroken. I explained...his behavior had been abnormal. He was clearly in distress but unable to communicate his pain."
Gelein was convicted of manslaughter and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, Stephens said. She faces up to 10 years in prison when she is sentenced in October, Stephens said. Gelin said she believes the injury was caused by the first responders giving him CPR.
In Nov. 2022, Gelin said she turned down a plea deal that would've seen her plead guilty to child endangerment charges.
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