Angwin mother charged with involuntary manslaughter

May death of baby left in car spurs criminal case

By MARSHA DORGAN
Register Staff Writer

The mother of a 10-month-old baby who died after being left for about six hours in the back seat of the family vehicle has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

After more than three months of investigation, the Napa County District Attorney’s Office filed the felony charge against Haley Sheri Wesley, 27, of Angwin.

On Thursday, Wesley went to the county jail where she was booked, according to Napa County District Attorney Gary Lieberstein. She was released on her own recognizance. Wesley is to appear in court on Oct. 30 for arraignment. The maximum penalty for involuntary manslaughter is four years in state prison.

Lieberstein said one of the reasons for the long period of time Between the incident and the filing of the criminal case was that investigators were waiting for the results of toxicology tests from the baby and Wesley.

“The test results are just part of all the information we needed to decide whether to file charges, if we did, what charges would be appropriate,” Lieberstein said.

Lieberstein declined to comment on the specifics of the report.

Authorities have said previously there is no indication that alcohol or drugs were involved, or that the baby had been neglected in the past.

The victim, Maddison Wesley, was found dead, secured in her child safety seat in the back seat of the family’s Honda on May 18. The car was parked in front of the family’s home on College Avenue in Angwin.

Wesley, along with her daughter, had left Angwin that morning to visit friends in Napa. Realizing she would be late for her job at Pacific Union College in Angwin, Wesley put Maddison in the back seat of the Honda and headed for work, arriving at PUC around 9 a.m.

Because she was late for work, she worked through her lunch hour and left PUC around 3 p.m., and drove home, police said. After being in the house for a short time, she left — thinking it was time to pick up her daughter at day care — and found the child unresponsive in the back seat.

Wesley took Maddison into the house, started CPR and called 911. Neighbors called Wesley’s husband at work. The baby was taken to St. Helena where she was pronounced dead.

Napa Valley Register Copyright © 2009