Toddler Suffocated to Death at Daycare, Left on Floor for Hours Until Mom Found Him

A Missouri woman has filed a lawsuit against a local daycare center, Poppy’s Playhouse, alleging that her 3-year-old son was suffocated to death by an employee who was trying to make him sleep. The daycare center, owned by a city council member, is accused of being aware of and approving the technique that allegedly led to the child’s death. The employee who allegedly performed the fatal technique has not been named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed on Monday in St. Francois County by Tara Williams, the mother of the deceased child, Conrad Ashcraft. The incident reportedly occurred on May 16 at the daycare center located in Park Hills, about 65 miles south of St. Louis. Williams alleges that her son’s death was a direct result of negligence by the daycare center.

The lawsuit details that the defendant, through the use of lower extremities, applied weight and pressure to the child’s chest and/or abdomen while he was lying down, in an attempt to make him sleep. The daycare center is also accused of failing to properly train and supervise its employees to ensure safe interaction between staff and children at all times. Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that the daycare center knew and approved of the technique of using human extremities to apply weight and pressure to a child’s body to make them sleep, despite knowing that such a technique could cause suffocation and fatal injury.

The lawsuit further alleges that the daycare center’s negligence was so severe that none of the employees working that day realized that Conrad was being suffocated or that he had died. According to the lawsuit, Conrad was killed and remained lying on the floor of the daycare center for hours without any effort to check on his wellbeing.

In an interview with a local NBC affiliate, Conrad’s aunt, Lacey Hardie, revealed that Conrad was nonverbal and had autism. She described it as a “nightmare” to think that the toddler was in pain but unable to express his need for help. Hardie also stated that nap time at the daycare center was at 12:30 p.m., but when Conrad’s mother arrived at about 4:15 p.m. and found him deceased, he was still on the floor where the daycare employee had allegedly forced him to sleep.

The daycare center is owned by Park Hills Ward 2 Councilwoman Spring Gray, who resigned on Tuesday. As of Thursday afternoon, no criminal charges had been filed in connection with Conrad’s death, and the daycare center has not publicly commented on the incident.