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Dixie Denise Villa and Abigail Lobisch (Hawaii News Now).
A woman operating an unauthorized day care on a Hawaiian military base was handed the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for causing the death of an infant through poisoning, as per multiple reports confirm. In November, the jury found the defendant, Dixie Denise Villa, guilty of manslaughter.
“I’ll never hear her call me mama,” Anna Lobisch, the mother of 7-month-old Abigail, said Wednesday, according to The Military Times.
Authorities reported that Villa was running an unlicensed day care from a residence at the Aliamanu Military Reservation, a base on Oahu, despite repeated shutdowns by authorities. This situation concluded in tragedy on February 23, 2019, when Abigail succumbed to an overdose of diphenhydramine, an antihistamine that serves as the active component in Benadryl. Prosecutors indicated children under six should only receive this medication if prescribed by a physician.
“The level of Benadryl detected in baby Abi’s system was inappropriate for administration to any minor, especially not one seven months old,” stated Judge Faaunga To’oto’o, as reported by The Navy Times. “These are the facts of this case.”
On Wednesday, Anna Lobisch reportedly said that it had been more than 2,260 days since her baby’s death, and “all that time my heart has never stopped hurting. My life has been defined by grief and loss and the pain of living without Abi is a heavy weight I will carry every single day for the rest of my life until Abi and I are finally reunited.”
She reportedly said Villa showed no remorse.
Defense lawyer Megan Kau asked for probation. She argued that her client was not a danger to the public and said that Villa had two children, one of whom had special needs. Villa cannot care for the children from behind bars, she said.
“A probation sentence will reflect the seriousness of the offense and will promote respect for the law and will provide punishment for Ms. Villa,” Kau reportedly said.
Those two children are reportedly in the custody of Villa’s now-former husband, an active-duty sailor. Ultimately, the judge agreed with the prosecution’s demand for a maximum sentence.
