16-month-old on her first day of day care was suffocated to death by employee who lay on top of her while scrolling through her phone: Lawsuit

A North Carolina time attraction idiosyncratic charged with manslaughter successful transportation with the decease of a toddler is present being sued by the small girl's parents.

Alexandra Coffey, 30, was moving arsenic a day care idiosyncratic astatine Creative Beginnings successful Lenoir, North Carolina, connected 16-month-old Maddy Mitchell's first time of time care, which was May 19, 2025. Maddy's parents ne'er saw her live again, and Coffey was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter. Now, Maddy's parents person filed a suit against Coffey, alleging gross negligence connected her portion and claiming that the erstwhile time attraction idiosyncratic placed the small miss look down, enactment a broad implicit her head, and laic connected apical of her "until her limb stopped moving."

According to the suit filed successful Caldwell County connected Monday, Maddy's parents alleged that Coffey was attempting to unit Maddy to instrumentality a nap and placed her connected a sleeping mat. After Maddy got up, Coffey "grabbed" the small miss and placed her backmost connected the mat look down. Coffey past allegedly placed a broad implicit Maddy's head, held the toddler's legs down with her ain legs, past "laid her precocious assemblage implicit the apical of Maddy's precocious body, successful the country of Maddy's precocious torso and neck."

Coffey allegedly remained connected apical of Maddy, who kicked her escaped limb "for respective minutes until her limb stopped moving." According to the lawsuit, Coffey remained connected apical of the toddler "while scrolling connected her phone."

After a while, Coffey got up, near Maddy connected the floor, and continued her enactment astatine the time care. She did not cheque Maddy again for 3 hours portion the miss was motionless nether the blanket. When she yet checked Maddy, the small miss was "already dead" and successful the aboriginal stages of rigor mortis. First responders arrived, but determination was thing near for them to do.

Maddy's decease was ruled a homicide, the origin stated arsenic smothering from compression asphyxia.

More from Law&Crime: 16-month-old miss dies connected her archetypal time of time attraction aft she ne'er woke up from a nap: Police

Maddy's parents are seeking a assemblage proceedings to find compensatory and punitive damages. Coffey's ineligible squad has not yet responded to the filing successful court.

Coffey's involuntary manslaughter lawsuit is ongoing; she bonded retired of the Caldwell County Detention Center not agelong aft her arrest. Her adjacent tribunal quality for her transgression proceedings has not yet been scheduled.

Local NBC affiliate WCNC reported that Creative Beginnings was unopen down aft the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services suspended the facility's license.