CLINTON, Maine — Two-year-old Maddison Foss-Greenaway knows that her little sister is not around anymore, but that didn’t stop her from trying to play with her on Friday.
Brooklyn Foss-Greenaway, Maddison’s 3-month-old sister, died on July 8. The 10-year-old daughter of the baby sitter taking care of Brooklyn was charged with manslaughter on Thursday in connection with the baby’s death.
Nicole Greenaway, their mother, said Maddison doesn’t know why Brooklyn is no longer around but says that her “sister’s in the sky.”
Maddison took a photograph of Brooklyn over to two neighbor girls on a swing set late Friday afternoon. Maddison placed the photo on the swing and pushed it. She later pushed the photo of her sister down the slide.
A short time earlier, Nicole Greenaway spoke about the night of Brooklyn’s death, when the infant was in the care of a co-worker in Fairfield.
Greenaway said a toxicology report revealed that medicine for attention deficit disorder was found in Brooklyn’s system. She said it’s the same medication the 10-year-old daughter of the baby sitter takes. There also were bruises on the baby’s face from when she was suffocated, allegedly by the 10-year-old.
“It looked like someone had beat her up,” said Greenaway. “Fingerprint bruises all over her face. A black eye. Bruises across the bridge of her nose.”
The Bangor Daily News is not releasing the name of the baby sitter in order to protect the identity of the 10-year-old charged with manslaughter. Police also have not released the name of the child or the baby sitter.
Greenaway said the mother of the 10-year-old hasn’t spoken to her since a few days after the infant’s death. They both work at Elmwood Primary Care in Waterville, but Greenaway said she has made arrangements to avoid having to see her.
The co-worker had baby-sat for Greenaway’s two youngest children “two or three times before that,” she said. Greenaway also has two boys, ages 15 and 16.
When Greenaway asked her co-worker to baby-sit for infant Brooklyn, she never dreamed that the woman’s 10-year-old daughter might play a significant and unsupervised role in the care giving.
“My understanding is that [the mother] brought Brooklyn’s playpen bassinet, and put it in [her 10-year-old daughter’s] room, and she left [the girl] to take care of her for the whole night,” said Greenaway, adding that the baby sitter didn’t check on Brooklyn when she cried. “Why wouldn’t any person not check on a three-month-old if they’re crying? I just don’t understand.”
Greenaway said she wasn’t aware of any past aggression from the 10-year-old toward Brooklyn.
“My concern was that she was only 10. I didn’t want her having responsibility of watching my daughter,” she said. “She did like to hold her a lot, feed her, change her diapers and stuff, and I was fine with that, as long as she wasn’t left alone.”
On the night Brooklyn died, Greenaway said she received a call at 1:46 a.m. from the baby sitter in Fairfield. The woman said she had found the baby not breathing and that Greenaway needed to go to the hospital in Waterville immediately.
“I sat in the waiting area for what seemed like forever. It was hours,” she said.
Greenaway was joined in the waiting room by her parents, her best friend and a cousin.
Also in the waiting room was the baby sitter and the 10-year-old daughter, said Greenaway.
“[The 10-year-old] kept saying, ‘I’m tired, I want to go, I want to know what’s going on,’ All the I’s, I’s,” said Greenaway. “I recall saying something to her along the line of, ‘It’s not about you. You need to just wait. It’s about Brooklyn. We need to know what’s wrong with Brooklyn.’”
After much waiting and being denied access to her daughter, Greenaway was brought into an exam room to be interviewed by police detectives. She still wasn’t allowed to see Brooklyn.
For about two hours that night, Greenaway said she was interviewed by detectives. After she was finished being interviewed, the baby sitter and her daughter were interviewed for about 10 minutes, she said.
“At this point, all I knew was that she had passed away. I didn’t know why,” said Greenaway.
After the baby sitter was done with the interview, she attempted to leave without saying anything to Greenaway, she said.
“[They] weren’t even going to stop and say bye, nothing,” said Greenaway. “So I stopped [her] and asked her, ‘Are you leaving?’ She’s like, ‘Yeah, I have two kids to get ready for camp.’ I was thinking to myself, you’re going to send your kids to camp after this incident happened at your house?”
Earlier this month, the baby sitter was reprimanded by a Department of Health and Human Services caseworker, who wrote in a report dated Aug. 10 that Brooklyn “died as a result of your neglect,” according to the Morning Sentinel newspaper in Waterville.
Greenaway said she wants the baby sitter arrested and charged for the death of her infant.
“I feel she needs to be held responsible,” said Greenaway. “She needs to have charges pressed on her. She neglected my daughter. She allowed abuse to my daughter. She never went and checked on her.”
On Thursday, the mother of the 10-year-old declined to comment and referred all questions to her attorney, John Martin of Skowhegan. A secretary at his office said Friday that Martin did not have a public comment regarding the case.
For now, police say the case is proceeding only against the 10-year-old girl, according to The Associated Press. Deputy Attorney General William Stokes told the AP the state does not intend to elevate charges against the girl to have her tried as an adult. She will be tried in the juvenile system. The maximum punishment in the juvenile system is incarceration until age 21.
Greenaway said she hasn’t received so much as an apology from the baby sitter. Such a gesture wouldn’t mean much at this point, she said, but she would like for her to accept responsibility for the death of Brooklyn.
“She needs to understand that she’s the one who’s responsible,” said Greenaway. “She needs to understand that she didn’t do everything she could to prevent it. She didn’t check on her. She left her with a 10-year-old.”
The 10-year-old girl is currently in DHHS custody and is scheduled for an appearance at Skowhegan District Court in October.
So damn sad!!!
Thoughts and prayers go out to both families involved.
Yes. Both families have lost a child. I do not understand why the baby was sleeping in the 10 year old’s bedroom. This was a big mistake on the mothers part who was in charge of the babysitting.
I’m looking forward to reading that the State has filed charges against the ‘babysitter’, who is the parent of the ten year old.
A 10 year old child, who has been fed drugs herself for God only knows how long is NOT responsible for this tragic accident.
but this maybe the only way to get her help?
‘Accident’?
A 10 year old child, who has been fed drugs herself for God only knows…children and adults are prescribed meds for ADHD have a legitimate illness. Would any1 complain about a person taking insulin for diabetes?
They use to call it hyperactive and warm your arse. That usually did the trick.
In many cases overworked docs just write a scrip and go to the next patient.We are conditioned to have a drug for everything.If you don’t think there’s drug abuse at all levels and ages,you’re not awake.”Mother’s Little Helper”is nearly half a century old but never more true.
The medical profession/corporate pharmaceutical complex is WAY out of line here. It about their profits not a childs health! I talked to a caseworker several years ago whose 20 something son was devastated by having been given ritalin as a child for ADHD. He was suicidal, on antidepressants.not a mentally healthy young man, same story one of my former art students. My Grandson……..school tried to insist he take it. My Daughter faced up 5 or 6 school employees & FLAT OUT REFUSED. He has now graduated High School, is taking online courses from MIT, while deciding his career direction, is brilliant yet an underachiever……..SO was Albert Einstein.
The educational system in this country has been high jacked by the NCLB system of rote learning memorization, NO TIME FOR CRITICAL THINKING, which a has led to the political disaster we now have. Most people unlike my Daughter will accept the word of the AUTHORITY instead of standing up to it.
I agree with you 100%. I took the same approach as your daughter when the teachers recommended that my son seek medication for possible ADHD when he was in first grade. My husband and I refused. We went and talked to our family doctor. In the end the doctor left the decision up to us and we chose to not put our son on these medications. Everyone has some form of mental illness, whether it’s a small anxiety about one particular thing, or whatever. People are too happy to medicate for something that could be taken care of easily by doing a few simple things to adapt and overcome. By the time my son was in high school, he was doing just fine, taking college-track courses, making the grades and making good decisions for his future. Now he is in a career that he loves and is a productive member of society. In lieu of drugs, we chose organizational tools to help him, a few visits to the school by mom/dad, and a few extra hours a week of schoolwork assistance at home with “fun breaks” in between. I know that some mental illnesses require medications, but I have seen so many cases of normal kids being stuck on drugs for the smallest little issues. We’re not all the same. We all learn and process differently. Until society acknowledges that, this drug situation is not going to change.
like..My Father had learning issues. had to go to Prep school, then Temple, finally U of Pa where he graduated from Wharton School of Business.Not sure if it is actually a form of mental illness or just a tendancy/ABILITY to be non conformist. Societies have always been led by those whose ideas were new/ fresh/ out of the box……… & it has always been a problem for the conformists…..read the history/literature of ANY civilization.
”Water is the driving force of all nature, it is the source of life it’s self.”- Leonardo da Vinci”It is the function of art, to renew our perception. What we are familiar with we cease to see.” – Anais Nin Pat Sharp
Milbridge, Me. 04658
207-546-2146
Subject: [bdn] Re: Mother of infant who died in July opens up about incidentFrom: notifications@disqus.net To: psharpart@hotmail.com
Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2012 12:57:50 +0000
legalwoman72 wrote, in response to rucognizant1:
I agree with you 100%. I took the same approach as your daughter when the teachers recommended that my son seek medication for possible ADHD when he was in first grade. My husband and I refused. We went and talked to our family doctor. In the end the doctor left the decision up to us and we chose to not put our son on these medications. Everyone has some form of mental illness, whether it’s a small anxiety about one particular thing, or whatever. People are too happy to medicate for something that could be taken care of easily by doing a few simple things to adapt and overcome. By the time my son was in high school, he was doing just fine, taking college-track courses, making the grades and making good decisions for his future. Now he is in a career that he loves and is a productive member of society. In lieu of drugs, we chose organizational tools to help him, a few visits to the school by mom/dad, and a few extra hours a week of schoolwork assistance at home with “fun breaks” in between. I know that some mental illnesses require medications, but I have seen so many cases of normal kids being stuck on drugs for the smallest little issues. We’re not all the same. We all learn and process differently. Until society acknowledges that, this drug situation is not going to change.
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It was good you made the decision that you did, because your son probably really didn’t have ADHD. Proper diagnosis by a trained mental health professional (no, not the pediatrician unless they have special training in it) is key.
I wasn’t lucky enough to be diagnosed at a young age, though looking back I’ve had symptoms of ADD as far back as I can remember. Although I am very smart, my school grades suffered and I never found a way to manage it all. As an adult, I was finally granted medication I needed and it significantly helped me get chores and errands done. As a result of being able to do ‘normal’ tasks without great difficulty, I felt much better. ADD can really bring down your self-esteem when you don’t even feel like you can shower because it’s so damn tedious. I’m not on any meds right now because I have no insurance and my sink of dishes, overflowing laundry baskets, and cluttered countertops [ETA, laughing at myself:]prove it.
Medication worked for me, but as adults we should be trying to help our ADD children manage their time and workload before we dose them up.
Nice to hear from someone with ADHD. People don’t understand.
what meds were you on? I have been treated (unsuccessful) for decades for depression and anxiety. I have always suspected ADD, especially since my son has it. (also refused to put him on meds when the school insisted. I have a feeling if I got the right meds I might be able to hold down a job for once in my life
I had used Ritalin without a prescription before (and liked it), so I opted for Adderall when I had the choice. I felt more jazzed up on the Ritalin, like a recreational stimulant. The Adderall, for me, just made it easier to accomplish tasks that before seemed daunting. It’s very hard to describe. There is this new stuff called Vyvanse and I just like their saying “..controls my ADD symptoms, I do the rest.”
Definitely bring up any and all concerns with your doctor and they’ll be able to tailor meds to you specifically.
Depression and anxiety could just be side effects of having undiagnosed ADD for so long. That’s actually what I originally went to the doctor for and ended up eventually mentioning the ADD symptoms.
Best of luck to you.
thank you. I have heard about the adderall before. I will check it out. just tired of all this, as I am sure you know. and I know it is hard to describe to someone that is not affected. but I totally understand what you are saying.
People with ADHD are smart. Their high-speed brains just can’t process the jumble of infomation they hold and often have depression because life is harder for them due to problems with sleep, lack of attention, irritability, etc. Your caseworker friend’s son probably had depression to begin with. I doubt it was brought on by ADHD medication.
amphetimines are “restricted use drugs” with a warning against use by children under 18.
If this child (which the police believe) committed the crime, then she needs to be held accountable. Yes, the adults here made mistakes. They did not actually cause the death of the baby, the 10 year old did.
I think the adult should be held responsible , perhaps even arrested.
The news tonight has stated that DHHS sent the mother of the 10 year old a letter stating she was responsible for the baby’s death. Time will tell.
And she should be held accountable! If your minor child damages someone else’s property intentionally, the parent is held responsible and accountable by having to pay for the damages. Granted this is not a case of property, but the same theory should hold ~ that a parent is responsible for their child’s actions. I cannot imagine giving a 10-year-old access to their medications either! I am pretty sure that as long as my children were still living at home I controlled their medication and timing of doses. I don’t know a lot about ADHD medications but I wouldn’t think that the child would need access to them except at certain times of day when the required dose was necessary. I cannot imagine leaving my baby with anyone other than family at that age, but sometimes we have to do what we have to do to support our children. As a co-worker at a healthcare facility the babysitter was obviously held in high enough regard by the baby’s mother to trust her with her baby. It is a tragedy this baby had to die and my heart goes out to her mother and her entire family who has to deal with this senseless death.
Are you KIDDING?????? A 10 year old is NOT mature enough to know the severity of what happened. ADULTS need to be RESPONSIBLE and KEEP ALL DRUGS AWAY from CHILDREN!!!!!!! WATCH YOUR KIDS!!!!!!!!
Okay, so you like capital letters. THE 10YEAR OLD KILLED THE BABY!
the 10 yo takes these meds daily. her little mind could not possibly have conceived it would hurt the baby. evidenced by her doing it before. Both should be accountable
This poor little girl doesn’t quite understand why one day she no longer had her sweet baby sister to look forward to growing up with; to playing with; to teaching her all the things she herself already knew like coloring with crayons and finding the cartoons on TV. Let’s not forget the siblings of little Brooklyn who grieve her loss.
Are you saying that this little girl was responsible for the death of another younger sister in her own family? The article I read is about a 10 year old that is charged with the alleged manslaughter death of a friends baby left in their care overnight.
I believe 66readerwriter means the infant’s 2 year old sister doesn’t understand.
why is the 10 yr old in a foster home now? The adult babysitting should be facing some charges, at least neglect.
Children are usually put in foster care to protect them from their caregiver/parents. Her parent did not protect a baby who was left in her care, and did not protect her daughter whom she left to care for a baby. Foster care is not to punish the 10 year old, it is to keep her safe, unfortunately no one was keeping this baby safe on that night. Very sad. I agree the babysitter should be charged also. I wonder if the 10 year old admitted to doing this?
DHHS used to and I am assuming still does Jail Diversion foster placements. I am going out on a limb and guessing that is what is going on here. The child is too young to go to a juvenile detention unit.
Explain then why the child’s sibling is still in the home if it is to protect the child from abuse?
I don’t believe the article stated the babysitters other children were still in the home. But are the other children older than the 10 year old, such as teenagers? Are they staying with another family member possibly? Yes I know about the juvenial probation and/or courts placing youth in foster care thru the juvenial system, but the article state that Dept of Health and Human Services took custody, not that the child was arrested/taken into custody by the juvenial system and then placed with DHHS, as what you call “Jail Diversion foster placements” that is how that occurrs.
There is a younger sister who was also taken out of the home.
The 10 year old is in a psychiatric hospital (according to baby’s mother) and in DHHS custody. Her mother did not actually cause the baby’s death, her daughter did. I am wondering why this 10 year old was not allowed to be around small children alone. What had happened before?
10? little young for a 3-month-old..right? -_-
A 10 year old is not old enough to be responsible for the care of a 3 mo old baby. The mother should have known better than to leave the baby in the 10 year old bedroom. This mother should be held for manslaughter also.!!!!
10? littlee young for a 3-month-old..right? -_- sorry, little one. & the family.
My heart goes out to all involved,but I have to say,why talk to to the media? That is the last thing I would be doing if my baby had just been killed.
I seriously wouldn’t be exposing my 2 y.o. to the media. Of course she misses her baby sister,but why out it out on the news???? IMO that should be private in the family.
Wonder how many comments and accusations she has been subjected too, people thinking she’s responsible for the death.. her way of bringing some kind of closure and sense of justice for her poor little baby. So easy to judge when you’re safe behind a computer, not making your way through such emotional devastation. Nothing compares to loosing a child… couldn’t imagine the helplessness and anguish she feels from loosing her child to the hands of another.
You know, I didn’t want to be the first to say it….but my gut suspicion is that the mother somehow enjoys the attention this is getting. I have seen daily articles with new-sounding interviews. Really, your child is dead, the whole situation is a tragedy, and it is now under official investigation with charges brought so I think the attention has been given where its due. Can we stop, please? I’m not being insensitive because the whole situation is sickening, but really.
Because she wants he babysitter held accountable along with her daughter. Do you know the mother of the Baby?
No I know none of them. I think anyone in their right mind would figure she wanted justice. The process is in action. What more can be done with repeated interviews with the press?
Also, what is up with these women keeping their FB pages public? Miss Greenaway’s is public and the other “undisclosed” perpetrator’s is public along with many pictures of her child. SOMEONE has to have told them that, seeing that the baby’s mom is posting on her page and someone on another thread commented that some other woman’s comments had been removed, yet she still has pictures of her minor child accused of manslaughter posted all over the place. Highly irresponsible and not protective of her daughter in the least!
kn
This protecting the identity is a joke. This is 2012. The Internet is entrenched. The identity is already out there. We all know her name, seen her picture, read about her life. What’s the point? Liability?
Just because the internet exists doesn’t mean a newspaper should do away with old fashioned journalistic integrity. It’s wrong to identify juveniles, and this paper hasn’t done it. I commend them.
The paper is protecting itself by not publishing the name.Anyone who wants to find the name can do so.It reminds me of the Navy SEAL with the Bin Laden book-his name was out in no time.And we do not “ALL” know her name.I don’t need to find it even though I could.
I am pretty sure it is a law.
couldnt imagine letting a non family member, may even not that close of a friend take care of my 3 month old overnite, that is a demanding age during the night to be sure. The circumstances would have to be pretty extreme for me to trust anyone with my 3 month old overnite. An awful thing to be sure. Poor judgement all around by all of the adults involved.
Ditto to that. She does not say why she left her 3 month old overnight but the little one belonged in her own crib with her parents nearby. Sorry but Mom needs to share some of the responsibility in this tragedy, she should have been with here baby.
exactly, where was the 2 year old? was she with the babysitter or the two teenagers? I understand the mother is upset, but blame wont take it back. Mother needs to take responsibility. I am sad for all involved. I am extremely sad for the baby. My prayers go out to her
What makes you believe that you have the right to criticize folks you do not know, who have been charged with nothing.
Common sense of a parent my dear.
some people have to work and don’t have the luxury of staying home with their children day and night.
yes they do have to work, where is the father, her parents arrived to the hospital to support her, but they were not there to watch the child? Its a bad call on the mothers’ part. I highly doubt her parents would have said no to her. I have a 3 month old, and would NEVER let a “coworker” watch her overnight. Bad call, and bad judgment on all adults is correct. maybe DHHS should look into all adults involved and remove ALL children.
blaming the victim? classy!
Read in another paper that the father is in the correctional facility in Charleston … nuf sed!
WHY and HOW did the TEN YEAR OLD even have access to medication?????? I am so saddened by this tragedy. My thoughts and prayers go out to EVBERYBODY involved. You need to watch your kids!
So if some Almighty Doctor says it’s medication then it can’t possibly be poison. Seems like we have quite an epidemic of these childhood “disorders” these days. I wonder what has changed so much since I was a kid. Maybe it’s something in the water causing it? What I’ve been hearing for years is that some of these parents do the diagnosis and then go doctor shopping until they get their way.
I think what has changed is discipline! When we were growing up there was a completely different attitude about children’s behavior and our expectations. Then there is the fact that most mothers in this country have to work. Unfortunately I think that has led children to act out in order to get their parents to pay attention to them.
When I was growing up, we didn’t have this epidemic of medicated children but we did have the disorders. I’ve had ADD my whole life but I wasn’t diagnosed until my 20’s. All through grade school I was a terrible student, but all I needed was a little help.
Go ahead and blame the doctors, but blame the parents, too, for not saying NO to drugs.
I was blaming some parents along with some doctors. I’ve known some of these parents who are in denial about the real cause of their child’s problems. Sometimes it’s mostly bad parenting but they persist until they find a doctor who will prescribe that “magic pill”.
This is a crazy story and the “behind the story” is even stranger. Tragic is the word that comes to mind. A 10 year old can not responsible and bruises could be from frantic efforts to revive the baby.
Who gave the baby the child’s medicine? Did the child admit guilt or did MDHS take her so that they could get the real story.
So you obviously know this family. What does being intubated at birth and having had RSV or even being left with a babysitter at 3 months old have to do with the fact that someone drugged this baby and sufficated her? Its sounds like you are trying to place blame on the mother of the baby instead of the babysitter and babysitters daughter. I would think DHS took custody to protect the 10 year old, as she too was neglected and emotionally abused, her needs were not met by her caregiver, her mother left her to care for a 3 month old baby in her room for the night, her mother didn’t check on the baby when she cried, her mother left her medicine at arms reach and this little girl drugged this baby.
Does ANY responsible parent leave an infant with a non-sibling 10 year old?ANYONE?How sad for this child.
dhs has been alert…this story is too far outside my realm of encouraging comments. may the 10 year old get prison and her mother as well.
My thoughts ” how does a child have access to medication ?”
I dont understand, its awful that a young baby has passed. My question is, who in their right mind would leave their 3 month old child with a babysitter overnight? Especially someone they work with and not know what goes on. I am sure she has family if she had to work, but I wouldnt leave my child with someone overnight, not that young. The mother needs to take some responsibility as well. I am sad for her, but she needs to take some blame too. SHE should have taken care of her 3 month old baby. Its awful, and very sad, its something that could have been prevented with better parenting.
She may have had to work the night shift.
WHY was this 3 month baby sent overnight with COWORKER in the first place? As a mother, I never dreamed of sending my children anywhere, even grandparents, until they were at least two. But a coworker with a 10 year old who has been known to want to maul your baby? Good grief, where is the parental instinct?
This whole thing is outrageous. The fact that they are charging a 10yr old child for the death of this infant is crazy. It was the babysitter who left the infant in the hands of a 10yr old. I’m not sure this 10y.0. even should be charged. It was the adult who was put in charge of the baby, thus making her responsible. Any loving mother would throw themselves on the mercy of the court for their child. Obviously not this one. Sad, pathetically sad.
The babysitter, the 10 year old and Greenaway are ALL part and parcel of the problem and share a portion of the blame.
The babysitter was clearly in the wrong for leaving a 10 year with psychological problems in charge of a newborn – absolutely horrid decision and worthy of jail time.
The 10 year old is clearly a deeply disturbed and twisted child. A ten years old CLEARLY KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG – for God’s sake most children by the age of 2-3 begin showing a clear understanding of knowing right from wrong.
Greenaway herself is not without responsibility – when my son was 3 months old I would never have considered leaving him overnight with anyone short of immediate family…..and I did not even do that. Greenaway was NOT leaving the child with a babysitter in order to work. Please stop making excuses for her. Not to mention the child’s father is doing a 6 month stint in jail/prison….come on now these are not shining examples of parents.
Sorry if this ruffles feathers – but it needs to be said.
How tragic :( Poor Baby Brooklyn and her Mommy and family! I am so sickened over this event! The sitter should be in jail and so should her evil 10 year old!