Inset: Krystal Krause in court (WOIO). Background: The Ohio area where Krause’s infant son died in 2023 (Google Maps).
An Ohio mother with a prior conviction tied to the death of one of her children is headed back to prison after acknowledging responsibility in the death of another child more than 10 years later.
Krystal D. Krause, 41, appeared Thursday in Lake County Court, where she pleaded guilty to one count of reckless homicide and one count of endangering children in connection with the 2023 death of her 2-month-old son, identified in court records as “DK.”
Krause had previously been convicted in the 2009 drowning death of her 3-year-old son.
At Thursday’s change-of-plea hearing, prosecutors disclosed for the first time how DK died, according to Shaker Heights, Ohio, CBS affiliate WOIO. They told the court the infant suffocated after Krause placed him in an unsafe sleeping environment, despite repeated warnings from doctors and other caregivers about safe sleep practices for infants, the station reported.
A recently unsealed indictment accused Krause, in her role as the child’s parent, of “recklessly” creating a “substantial risk” to the baby’s health and safety by failing to meet her duty of care, leading to his death.
Wickliffe police officers were called to the family’s home on Ridge Road on Nov. 15, 2023, after a report of an unresponsive infant, Cleveland NBC affiliate WKYC reported. First responders found the 2-month-old boy lying face down on Krause’s bed. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Following an investigation, the case was brought before a Lake County grand jury, which handed up an indictment in April, court records show.
The guilty plea marks the second time Krause has been convicted in the death of one of her children.
Court records show Krause was indicted in Summit County in 2009 on charges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangering following the death of her 3-year-old son.
According to WKYC’s reporting on that earlier case, investigators said the boy drowned after wandering outside and falling into a swimming pool while Krause was inside the home. She told police she had gone to the bathroom for about 10 minutes while the child was playing in the living room before discovering what had happened.
Under a plea agreement, the involuntary manslaughter charge was reduced to reckless homicide, and she pleaded guilty to reckless homicide and child endangering before receiving a two-year prison sentence.
Records show Krause was arrested April 9 in the current case after the grand jury returned the indictment two days earlier. She initially pleaded not guilty before changing her plea Thursday. She is represented by the Lake County Public Defender’s Office.
Krause is scheduled to appear for her sentencing hearing on Aug. 13, according to court records. Court records indicate she is facing between 18 months and six years in prison along with a fine of up to $20,000.
