Macon – A 27-year-old intellectually disabled woman pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter Wednesday in the 2014 death of her infant daughter.
Kawanna Janesa Oliver, 27, also pleaded guilty to cruelty to children in the first degree.
Oliver was sentenced to 20 years on probation with a special condition that she is barred from living with a child, babysitting, having guardianship of a child or otherwise caring for a child. She will be on active supervision with probation officers regularly visiting her home to ensure no children reside there. Oliver also will be listed on the state child abuse registry.
If the case had gone to trial, prosecutor Dorothy Hull would have presented evidence showing:
Oliver gave birth to Andrea Oliver in November 2013. Andrea’s birth was premature and she received care in the neonatal intensive care unit of a local hospital until she was released on March 3, 2014. The infant, who had special medical needs including a feeding tube, was released to her mother’s care despite the hospital being made aware of concerns that Oliver was not able to care for the child.
Oliver called 911 on April 7, 2014, saying her baby was unresponsive. Andrea died that day. An autopsy determined her death was caused by malnutrition. The infant also had a fractured arm.
Oliver spent more than 15 months in the county jail while awaiting trial.
Speaking after the hearing, Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney David Cooke said, “While Ms. Oliver is competent to be prosecuted, we recognize she has intellectual disabilities and have considered them in recommending this sentence. These facts made it crucial to ensure that Ms. Oliver can’t be in charge of another child for the next 20 years.”
For more news from the District Attorney’s Office, follow on Twitter @DA_DavidCooke, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DADavidCooke and on Instagram at da_davidcooke.
Contact: Amy Leigh Womack
478-621-6179 (office)
478-319-2529 (cell)
