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A woman babysitter was sentenced to life in prison for killing a 5-year-old boy that she was taking care of. The woman is 23 years old, and this happened in 2021.
According to the report by KLAS-TV on December 14, 2022, on March 11, 2021, Lauren Courtney was taking care of Ryan Peralto. After Ryan wet himself, Courtney pushed him, and he fell and hit his head on the floor.
As stated by KSNV-TV in a report on December 16, 2022, the father of the victim said that Courtney was babysitting his two children when she called him and said that his 5-year-old boy was not feeling well and had coughed up blood. However, in a recorded surveillance video, the father saw the babysitter kicking, punching, and slapping the boy while yelling at him for two minutes.
The boy reportedly had a fracture in his skull, bleeding in his brain, and a fracture in his spleen. According to the same report by KSNV, he died from injuries to his head, chest, and abdomen caused by direct force, and the death was considered a homicide.
According to KLAS, Courtney told the police that she did not remember how the child was injured while she was babysitting him, and she knew that there were surveillance cameras at home. The father had reportedly installed the cameras after his other child said that Courtney was hurting Ryan physically.
The father reportedly saw the unconscious child on the couch through video surveillance footage. Before she called the father about the child’s condition, Courtney was seen cleaning blood off the floor.
As reported by KSNV, Courtney admitted to the police that she had beaten the boy after getting upset with him and that she had mental health issues. She also said that she pushed the boy harder than she should have.
Courtney was arrested and taken to the Clark County Detention Center on March 11, 2021, for first-degree murder, according to records.
In October, she pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was given a life sentence in prison on December 14, with the possibility of being released on parole after 20 years.