Background: News footage of the Tiny Tigers day care center in Red Bay, Ala. (WAFF). Inset: News footage of Payton Gann in court (WAFF).
An Alabama woman who used to work at a day care center was found responsible for the death of a 4-month-old baby who died on her watch.
Payton Gann, whose age was undisclosed, was convicted by a jury in June after being charged with manslaughter regarding the death of 4-month-old Autumn Wells. Gann, one of four individuals charged in the incident, received a 20-year prison sentence on Tuesday; however, she is required to serve only six years in prison followed by five years of probation. Any probation violation will result in serving the entire 20-year sentence.
According to prosecutors, Gann was one of two women responsible for Autumn’s care on March 9, 2022. On that day, Gann placed Autumn on her stomach on a “Boppy” pillow and covered her with a blanket for a nap. Gann then left the infant alone “for an extended period of time.” Upon her return, she found the baby unresponsive.
Local NBC affiliate WAFF’s courtroom coverage revealed that Gann and Madison McCalpin shared the responsibility of caring for Autumn that day, and both faced manslaughter charges. McCalpin accepted a plea deal, which required her to testify against Gann. Her testimony included that Gann allowed her to leave Autumn alone to make a phone call before Gann exited the room.
McCalpin testified that Gann instructed her to claim that Autumn died on a swing. According to an indictment reported by local ABC affiliate WAAY, Gann’s mother, Teia Gann, also directed others to misrepresent how Autumn died and who was in the room. Teia Gann faced charges of tampering with a witness and entered a plea deal in May.
At the trial, the medical examiner stated that Autumn’s body temperature was 90.4 degrees upon arriving at the hospital, suggesting that she had been deceased for approximately two hours.
An Alabama Department of Human Resources employee’s testimony during Gann’s trial further highlighted the lax practices at the day care, owned by Angelene Chamblee, who stands accused of forgery and maintaining outdated records.
Gann was also found guilty of false reporting. She was sentenced to one year in Franklin County Jail for that charge. That will be served on top of five years in prison, followed by five years of supervised probation.
