Columbia detective notes inconsistent statements by defendant during Day 3 of Boone County baby death trial
Olivia Hayes
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Three more witnesses took the stand Thursday morning as the manslaughter trial against an unlicensed Boone County daycare owner continues.
Columbia Police Detective Brian Graff noted three inconsistent statements given by Sarah Brown following the death and discovery of Ayla Gibson in her care. Brown is charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter.
“She found Ayla about 15 minutes later after laying her down. Still swaddled, still on her back or on that 45 degree angle,” Graff said. “Statement number two aws she found her about 15 to 20 minutes later, but she was on her face.”
Brown is alleged to have put Gibson–who was 3-months-old at the time– in a crib at her daycare in north Columbia with a loose, unfitted blanket and pillow in a position that resulted in death by suffocation, court documents say. Documents also claim the baby had a viral lung infection and that Brown ignored parent instructions to have her sleep on her back.
Brown’s first two statements were to other officers, Graff took her third statement.
“She found Ayla approximately one hour later, but she was also on her face,” Graff said regarding statement No. 3.
The court was shown body camera footage of the encounter where Brown told Graff that Gibson was dropped off in her car at 6:30 a.m. May 25, 2023. Brown said she put Gibson down for a nap at 7:30 a.m. By 8:30 a.m. Brown said she noticed Gibson had not woken up, but since she knew Gibson was sick she decided to make a bottle and let her sleep a bit longer.
Brown told Graff she initially gave inconsistent statements to officers as to how she found Ayla because she was scared.
Brown alleged it was just after 8:30 a.m. that she found Gibson when she went to wake her up and feed her the bottle. She told Graff that within seconds, she realized something was wrong and attempted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation attempts before calling 911. However Graff noted the 911 call was not made until 9:58 a.m. leading him to later take a fourth statement from her.
In Brown’s fourth statement about what happened, she spoke with Graff again the day after Gibson’s death.
Body camera footage of the interview shown in court shows Brown telling Graff that she found Gibson around 9:30 a.m. When he asked her about the time discrepancy she explained she looked at her call logs and saw she called 911 closer to 10 a.m. so she must have found Gibson around 9:30 a.m.
Prosecutors also noted differing statements from Brown about the number of children in her care. Graff explained that she told officers on scene she was caring for seven children, then in Brown’s interview with Graff for her fourth statement she said she was caring for nine. Graff testified that officers accounted for 12 children in Brown’s care.
Missouri law requires that anyone caring for more than six children be licensed. Brown did not have a license for her daycare.
Brown faces three-to-10 years in prison, if found guilty.
Check back for updates.