FORT WORTH (WBAP/KLIF News) – The mother of a baby who was found dead in a Fort Worth home Monday night is speaking out about her tragic loss.
Megan Norris choked back tears and said “Baby John” was a wonderful child.
“He was the sweetest baby. He rarely cried. He was laughing a lot. Always smiling. He just started crawling on Sunday and he was nine months old on Sunday,” she said.
Norris said she dropped off her son at his babysitter’s house before she went to work.
Police believe the caretaker placed the baby in his car seat and put him in the master bedroom closet to nap but didn’t secure him in properly. The woman told investigators that she did not check on him for two hours.
Police said his neck was caught between the car seat buckle that was fastened and he suffocated to death.
Investigators said the caretaker was watching 10 to 11 children at the time of the incident.
The family hired the woman earlier this year and said that there were no signs of neglect.
“There were no red flags nothing. No bruises. No scratches,” said Norris.
The Department of Family Protective Services is investigating the case and are looking into whether or not the woman was just a babysitter or if she was operating an in-home daycare.
Megan Norris’ mother Lisa Crow said her daughter felt comfortable leaving her child in the woman’s care because of her perceived background.
“Upon finding out that Tarrant County Department of Family and Protective Services placed children in her home that added an extra measure of comfort because being an attorney in family law and her of course being my daughter…we know the checks the department puts in place. So, they should have not placed children there if there were any red flags. So, that reaffirmed her belief that she had a quality person watching her child,” she said.
DFPS’ Marissa Gonzalez said there is no record of the caretaker holding that type of license.
“We do know of course that this caregiver does not have a permit to operate any kind of child care. So, licensing staff have instructed her to stop caring for any children at least during this investigation,” she said.
Gonzalez said there are regulations that differentiate a babysitter and a day care.
“It depends on how many children you’re caring for…how often and how long,” she said.
Gozalez said the investigation could take as long as a month to wrap up.
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