A Pennsylvania woman will spend 40 to 80 years behind bars for “brutally” taking the life of a 3-year-old boy in 2022.
Chelsea R. Cooley pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child, and strangulation for the death of her boyfriend’s son, according to a press release from state Attorney General Michelle A. Henry. The 33-year-old received her sentence on Monday.
On May 28, 2022, officials discovered the child with baby wipes stuffed in his throat. Unresponsive, the boy was transported to the local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Cooley is said to be the only adult in the home during the incident while the father was working a 12-hour shift. Other children were present at the time, according to authorities.
“The facts of this case are horrific. This defendant was responsible for caring for this child, and instead she did the unthinkable,” Henry said in a statement. “She brutally murdered him, a defenseless and innocent three-year-old child. This defendant’s actions are devastating to the child’s loved ones, but we hope today’s admission and sentence offer a measure of justice.”
A neighbor mentioned they heard screaming and a woman yelling, “Shut up,” the evening of the incident per a press release. It was revealed that Cooley showed law enforcement a photo of the injured, unresponsive child that she took at 8:41 p.m.; however, she didn’t call 911 until nearly 30 minutes later. Cooley blamed the delay on her phone “acting up.”
While on the phone with dispatchers, officials claimed Cooley was reluctant to listen to instructions to help the toddler. According to the Bedford Gazette, she removed two wipes from his mouth but only after putting on gloves. First responders reportedly took out four more while doctors needed the help of 8-10 inch forceps to remove an additional two.
In an arrest affidavit obtained by local news station WJAC, Cooley claimed she found the toddler who was “acting up” earlier in the evening “cold to the touch, not breathing and had something lodged in his throat.”
However, EMS medics “did not believe that the child would have been able to put the wipes down his own throat” in part due to the way they were tightly “packed together.”
The local medical examiner determined that “an adult strangled and asphyxiated” the child based on “the location of the wipes.”
During her sentencing at Bedford County Court, Cooley requested to leave the courtroom during the victim’s impact statement, but the outlet reported that the judge refused to honor it. “She’s going to stay there,” Judge Travis Livengood said.
The emotional testimony from the child’s father, identified as Travis Young Sr., slammed Cooley, adding he would never forgive her.
“How could you betray my boy’s trust? How is it right you destroyed my life?” the statement read by prosecutors said. “The [worst] is slowly forgetting the sound of his voice. I hope he haunts you every single second of your life.”
Another family member who spoke was the child’s mother, Rachel Reuter, who mentioned losing her “firstborn” and “best friend,” per the Bedford Gazette.
“I forgive you, but I will never be able to forget what happened … I hope one day you will be able to find the peace I’m sure you need,” she said.
Livengood stated that Cooley showed “no remorse whatsoever.” Adding, “You have earned every single day of the 40 to 80 years you are going to get.”
