Oluremi Adeleye, a 73 nanny convicted of murder in the U.S. for force-feeding a baby milk has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
According to Washington Post, the septuagenarian was found guilty of child abuse and second-degree murder by Prince George’s County Circuit Court, Judge Karen Mason.
“While I don’t find the defendant is an evil-intentioned baby slayer, I also don’t find her actions were accidental.” Mason said before handing down the sentence.
Prince George’s County prosecutors argued that the nanny unscrewed the lid of a baby bottle and poured nearly eight ounces of milk down 8-month-old Enita Salubi’s throat.
Adeleye, a native of Nigeria, testified in her own defense at her trial that she was “cup-feeding” the baby to ensure it didn’t go hungry, a custom in her home country.
She and her attorneys said that she did not mean to hurt the child and that Enita’s death was a “tragic accident.”
Adeleye had others testify in her defense, saying that cup-feeding — pouring liquid in one’s hand to feed children when they do not want to eat but need to be fed — was common in Nigeria.
“Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to kill your child,” Oluremi said in court on the day the judgement was delivered.
The child had roused the nanny from a nap, and the girl essentially drowned in milk while in Adeleye’s care in Glenarden on Oct. 24, 2016, prosecutors said at trial.
Enita’s mother, Nikia Porter, said at the sentencing that she moved from the South Side of Chicago to escape gun violence that could have put her family in danger.
“I didn’t want to lose my child to a stray bullet…. I lost her to a formula.”
Adeleye, opted for a bench trial, in which a judge weighed her fate instead of a jury.
In finding Adeleye guilty of all the charges against her, Mason said Adeleye lied to homicide detectives in recorded interviews about whether she unscrewed the cap of the bottle to feed the child.
The shifting story, Mason said, demonstrated a “consciousness of guilt.”
The washington post...
This woman should have been at home now enjoying the fruits of her labour and not wearing Orange in Jail.....
The law does not look at age or status abroad..If you do the crime whether knowingly or unknowingly,you must do the time...
Hopefully with good behaviour she might be set free in five years
Yea, she'll probably be out by 5 years.
ReplyDeleteSad
ReplyDeleteShe'd be out on parole in no time.
Thats how our nigerian mothers fed us oh, cry and catarrh with akamu all over, you go chop by force....
please fed you not us...
Deleteits practiced by poor people..leave others out of it..
DeleteYou were the one fed that way please
DeleteI wasn't fed that way......either were my siblings or cousins. So I don't understand this making it out to be it's normal. Infact not till I was grown I even knew what force feeding is.
DeleteI think people in the rural areas did this a lot. I wasn't fed that way. I
DeleteWe are sometimes attached to stupid and ridiculous customs which we take with us to other countries where there are stringent laws and regulations. Force feeding is so so wrong. A child will eat when it is hungry for heaven's sake. I hope this serves as a lesson to others.
ReplyDeleteAnon show some empathy.
DeleteIt’s what she’s used to...like she said, our custom.
The lesson here is you don't use ''it'' for a child.
DeleteDo you think she knew force feeding could kill a child?
DeleteI didn't even know the dangers of force feeding until this woman's case came up. No sane person will deliberately harm an innocent child
What do you mean by you don't use'it' to describe a child?
DeleteIt can and is used to describe a child! Anon is actually correct.
DeleteSpongbob do you have sense at all?
Delete9:28, as much as I understand you, it's been done and will be done over and over. Hope you'll write to the Washington Post to tell them
Deletebroomstick to people you know right? oke good..
DeleteShes black so her sentence is more.
ReplyDeleteI hope she gets out soon
At least their prison is more like a home, she'd probably be put together with inmates locked up for tax evasion & other misdemeanours, not the violent criminals....
DeleteYLE and you know this because you work in the US Justice or Penal system, right? You're forgetting that she technically tortured the baby to death. And that's a violent act...
DeleteYou see the difference between how the law works in Nigeria and how it works in the western world.
ReplyDeleteIf this had happened in Nigeria, you will see people screaming tender justice ⚖ with mercy and they will start attacking the victim.
It is easier being a black woman in Nigeria than in western world.
She did the crime, she do the time. Justice served to all.
I pray the parents of the deceased find some peace and closure.
This your comment no just follow sha
Deletekileleyi nso?? #jagbajagba
DeleteEasier being black in Africa Sis, so right!!!
DeleteHello Mrs A, happy sunday
BV COOKIE
"I too know syndrome" is a sickness.
Delete9:50 I know right!
DeleteA nauseating one at that. Luckily, no jail time for that.
Ms A with her yeye grammar 🤣
DeleteWhat a roundabout way of saying nothing
DeleteLook at all the riff rat under my comment... I bet most of you are ignorant of how the justice system works.
DeleteAnonymous the English language Master, I'll keep giving you and your likes headache here.
@anononymous 09:11, you can't like my comments all the time but, that doesn't stop it from being the truth 😘
BV cookie I sight dear 🤗🤗😘
O nwe nke a ma uma eme
ReplyDeleteThis story breaks my heart 😭😭😭
ReplyDeleteThis woman doesn't deserve this at her age.
I have watched my mother force - feed my younger siblings, my nieces and nephews and they didn't die. I had no idea this method of feeding could kill a baby... I am sure my mom doesn't know (she never went to school and can't read). Now how can i watch my mom go to jail for her "innocent act" 😭😭😭
I can't begin to imagine what this woman's children are going through. Life is unfair
you nailed it! even when my mum was alive being educated she did it to all her grandchildren including mine... #Sad
DeleteSMH. If heaven forbid, this happens to you abroad, your mother WILL go to jail. And you'll watch her do so cos you won't be able to do a single thing to stop it. If you lie to protect her and you're caught (which you will be), you will also go to jail. Perjury, obstructing a police investigation, obstruction of justice and any other charges an angry prosecutor can come up with, will be added to your charge sheet. For those reasons, you'll actually be treated worse than your mother. You probably won't go to jail for the rest of your life but you will be considered such a danger to children, that every child you have will be taken away from you by the State.
DeleteThis is the problem in Nigeria. Because our mothers did it does not mean it is right. We survived but some other children, in this same Naija died because of force feeding. Children all over the world are the same. Some are very picky and just refuse to eat yet the mothers and grandmothers in America and the UK , even the black ones, find a way around it. The woman is old, yes but does that change the fact that a child died because of what she did, whether it was deliberately or not? The fact that she is old and did not set out to kill the child does not and can never change the fact that the child is dead and will never come back. The parents will grieve for the rest of their lives. When you hit someone with a car by mistake, even if it is the person that jumped in front of your car, you are charged with manslaughter and not murder and it is something like that that happened in this case. Sorry Mama but there are consequences for every action even if the intentions were good. I pray that all those saying that the mama should have been let off will never lose a child because of force feeding because I am sure they will want the force feeder to be killed and not even jailed. It is he who wears dthe shoe that knows how it pinches. May God save us all.
DeleteSo sad; na real village pipu be dis o
ReplyDeleteShe will be out in 5yrs
ReplyDeleteThat's d crazy thing about here, they don't care who you are or the age. The law is the law.
ReplyDeleteMy heart goes out to her family. I hope they can appeal
Appeal on what grounds? You can't appeal just cos you don't like the verdict. Y'all know that, right?
DeleteAlmighty dollar. At 73 she is still hustling for cash instead of being home and being taken care of by her children and grandchildren. She won't be out in 5 years even with good behaviour. This is a felony conviction.
ReplyDeleteSome womem enjoy doing it, it keeps their mind busy instead of just sitting idle all day... not really for the cash
Deletemfs. she killed someones child. Are u only thinking about jail time because shes old
ReplyDeleteOn a good day this woman should be chilling not doing nanny work at her age.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that force feeding is wrong,its like a normal thing here not just for babies but for all children who refuse to eat.Some mothers even buy cane with which they flog their children until they are forced to eat.Ignorance is a disease indeed.
ReplyDeleteIt's all shades of wrong and no, it's not normal.
DeleteBut why force feed a child though? Trust me, except a baby is ill, they will eat when they are ready.
DeleteEven when a baby is ill and not eating well, just make sure they are not dehydrated. Keep giving liquids, orange, lucozade, Rubens or just formulae.
Africans need to know that force feeding is wrong. Agreed, it is done with good intentions but it is dangerous Baby can choke in the process, it could go wrong.
First, my heart goes out to the couple that lost their baby and then the mama. At least mama has lived her life but the baby's life was cut short.
It's well. Lord take control.
ReplyDeleteWhich Lord?
DeleteI think the diaspora commissions should intervene. Anyone who knows Abike Dabiri should bring this to her attention
ReplyDeleteIntervene you say???? I hope you know it was a human being,a defenceless baby at that and not a puppy that was killed.
DeleteThat child is also a Nigerian 'Salubi' and deserves justice so what is Abike intervening for.
Everyone is looking at her age...atleast she had a chance to live 73yrs and will probably be out in 7yrs or so. That baby NEVER got a chance.
Everyone is also forgetting the fact she didn't want to be disturbed from her sleep and was partly rushing to feed that baby so she can go back to sleep.
Sorry if I sound insensitive but I also have to remember there was a death here and I care more about that beautiful baby that is gone. Mama has lived her life.
Intervene and do what, please? The way some of you talk, God needs to intervene in your thinking process. You think America is Nigeria where if you beg, harass or threaten the victim enough to "forgive", they drop a case. The only reason(s) this lady didn't get a more severe sentence? There was no evidence to suggest that she intended to kill the child, and she opted for a bench trial indicating either remorse (by not wanting to waste public funds and time with a jury trial) or just fear of taking her chances with a jury (cos she would have been advised that Americans don't play when a child dies).
DeleteAnd that's the crux of the matter - a child died. A baby. It was unnecessary and could actually have been avoided. It wasn't even an accident! She may not have intended the outcome but it's impossible to say she didn't know on some level that she was doing something wrong. That's what lying to the police showed.
She might have suffered to train her own child(ren); is that a reason to let her go free? So the reward for training your offspring is that you get to kill theirs, whether intentionally or accidentally? That's as ridiculous as a MIL who uses "He's my son and I suffered to train him" as her attempts to justify her refusal to stay away from her son's marriage. While some things may be true, why are they even relevant enough to be mentioned within the context of certain situations?
"I didn't mean to" doesn't get you a free pass. If it did, nobody would ever go to jail after another person dies in an accident. It's because stuff happens and people don't always mean to, that the law bothers to make a distinction between murder and manslaughter.
"It's our culture" isn't a defence for committing any kind of infraction. And TBH, you should be too ashamed to try to use some things as a defence, even when it's true - because of how barbaric those things are! Some of you ladies reading this were circumcised as children; go and try it in the UK or USA, say it's your culture and see how far.
And before you attempt to come for me and say I lack empathy, try to remember this - a child died.
Bed and Rose's, God bless you for rechoing my thoughts. Let Abike go and intervene now, mstchew.
DeleteForced feeding shouldn’t necessarily kill a child, at least I haven’t heard that happen anywhere. She must have intentionally force fed the child so she could go back to sleep and probably over did it in the process. She forgot where she was or else she would have been mindful..
DeleteAlternative Facts, force-feeding kills. Now, you have heard. The child basically drowned in milk.
Delete@bed and roses and anonymous 12:27,God bless you both👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾
DeleteWhere are those who were attacking one BV who was complaining about her MIL's behaviour towards her newborn twins? Shebi you people were claiming she's a bad and intolerant wife, intolerant towards her MIL and nothing will happen to her children?
ReplyDeleteThat you were force-fed or subjected to one form or the other of child abuse in Nigeria and you didn't die, doesn't mean it's the right thing.
Don't mind them.....anyone handling my baby the way I don't deem fit or safe. I must talk and collect that child from you ASAP. F custom and tradition where my baby's safety and wellbeing is concerned.
Delete73 years old woman still doing nanny work aboard..nooooo noooo
ReplyDeleteShe is supposed to be on retirement leave st her age..
What do i know??
May God console the parents of the child.
ReplyDeleteVery sad story.
My dear' this is really sad. I recently put to bed via cs and I am unable to breastfeed my child cos my nipples are inverted. With all the pains I am going through my mum and aunts are just bullying me yo press my breasts till the nipples show. Thank God my husband has told them to leave me alone. My friend's mil did same for her and she had serious scars and bleeding after. All these archaic method needs to go abeg.
ReplyDeletePls bully them back. If your child drinks formula for now. Nothing will happen. That is how my mother inlaw wanted to be doing for me and I changed it for her. We all don't produce milk like tap. It took me a while also and my baby was taking formula because my milk just wasn't enough. Luckily I am even abroad and naturally I don't take nonsense. My baby,my body.
DeletePlease, if the milk is not coming out the natural way, do not force it.
DeleteYou can take beer with no alcohol or a little amount of palm wine; if there is still no milk, continue with your formula.
Don't torture your breast please.
Hugs to your baby.
Wish adults who don’t want to eat could be force fed as well. Nonsense tradition.
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteForced feeding is not a custom in Nigeria. It's practised by some 'uneducated' westerners. Poor woman said her baby drowned in Formula...sad.
ReplyDeleteParents please invest in nanny cameras and let the nanny know you have cameras. Talk to them through the camera from time to time. That will help them focus on their job and not neglect your kids while they chill or sleep. Really dad story for all involved. She wouldn't have lied to the police if she didn't know what she did was wrong. The baby was fighting for air and she kept pouring more in? Shivers
ReplyDeleteSee why some of our cultural practices need to be scraped?
ReplyDeleteIf you take a few minutes to research this story online, then your thoughts and prayers will be with the parents of the poor child and not with the nanny that maliciously force fed a defenceless 8 months old baby
ReplyDeleteThe incident was captured on the nanny cam installed by the parents and the video of the incident shows a crying baby waking up the nanny from a nap on the couch and in anger the nanny then forcefully poured 240ml of formula down the baby’s throat in under 30 secs, despite the baby squirming and struggling as it was effectively drowned
When the baby was now lifeless instead of dialling 911 she waited a while and dialled the father, who then rushed home and only when he got home were the paramedics called and it was too later to save the child
This incident happened in Oct 2016 and if the child was alive she would be three years old today. As a father of three year old twins I’ve got zero sympathy for the callous nanny and I think she got off very lightly, as the child’s life is over and she got to live 70yrs as a free woman and got to meet her 10 grandchildren. As a parent you pray you never have to bury your own child, and that you get to meet at a minimum your children’s children
The family of the nanny were unable to bail her, and she has been in custody since Oct 2018. In the state of Maryland where she was convicted you’re eligible for parole after serving half your term for a second degree murder conviction. Taking into account the time served, the nanny will be eligible for parole in under 5yrs
For all those that were force fed as a child, presumably it was done with love, and your mum/grand ma carefully monitoring you to ensure that you were not in distress and able to breathe? That was certainly not the case in this incident
Suffice to say, if that was my child she had murdered, I would think she got off very lightly
👏👏👏
Delete