Pennsylvania woman pleads guilty in killing of 3-year-old found with baby wipes jammed in throat
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A Bedford County woman charged with killing a 3-year-old boy pleaded guilty and was sentenced to at least 40 years in prison.
Chelsea Cooley pleaded guilty on Monday to third-degree murder, strangulation and endangering the welfare of a child, Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said in a news release. The 33-year-old woman was sentenced to 40 to 80 years in prison on Monday.
Officials said the child, later identified as Travis Young, was found unresponsive at Cooley's home on East First Street in Everett Borough on May 28, 2022, with baby wipes lodged in his throat. He was taken to UPMC Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment and died a day later.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office said the boy, who was Cooley's boyfriend's child, was strangled and asphyxiated by an adult based on the location of the wipes and other injuries, the news release said.
"The facts of this case are horrific," Henry said in the news release. "This defendant was responsible for caring for this child, and instead she did the unthinkable. 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."
Cooley was the "sole adult caregiver" at the home at the time, officials said. An investigation found, according to the news release, that the 33-year-old woman was home with the boy and other children. The 3-year-old boy's father was working and said the child was normal and healthy when he left for work.
The release said a neighbor heard screaming and a woman yelling, "Shut up," on May 28, 2022, around the time the boy suffered his injuries.
The news release added that Cooley showed officers a photo of the boy lying down unresponsive "with obvious injuries" at around 8:41 p.m. but did not call 911 until 9:07 p.m.