OFFICIALS: Babysitter accused of poisoning infant may have done it before
By Rachael Perry
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OKEECHOBEE, Florida (WPBF) — WPBF 25 News is investigating past allegations against an Okeechobee babysitter now accused of poisoning an infant.
According to court records, 59-year-old Anna M. Adamo is charged with attempted first-degree murder, among other charges, after detectives claim she poisoned an infant with antifreeze earlier this year.
WPBF 25 News has obtained records from the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office that show Adamo was questioned in a separate 2014 investigation where an infant was hospitalized. Those records allege the infant appeared unwell after his parents reportedly picked him up from Adamo’s home.
However, despite doctors suspecting poisoning, no charges were filed.
According to the incident report, a detective with the OCSO responded to a Department of Children and Families report. The report noted a six-month-old child was taken to the hospital for being lethargic, and it was later determined the child could have been poisoned with a household cleaner or anti-freeze.
Records from the OCSO show the detective interviewed the child’s parents, who claim Adamo was watching the child on February 24, 2014, at her home while they were at work. The mother said the child’s father picked the infant up and noticed he was lethargic and not acting like himself.
According to the incident report, the father brought the child to a local hospital before he was flown to Palms West Hospital in West Palm Beach.
A large portion of the child’s medical status at the time has been redacted from the report; however, detectives reportedly spoke with the child’s doctor, Brian Dewitt, who is quoted as telling them he had a slight concern that the child may have been poisoned. However, he said more tests had to be performed outside the hospital by a lab to determine that.
The incident report includes interviews with both the child’s babysitter, Anna Adamo, and a friend of Adamo’s. Adamo is listed as the suspect in the investigation.
The records show Adamo claimed the child was fine all day and was cooing, smiling, and playing with toys. She told the detective that her good friend came to visit, and the child was smiling at her and cooing. Adamo’s friend reportedly confirmed what Adamo had said.
According to the detective, a few days after the child was hospitalized, Dr. Dewitt received a call from the lab and was advised that the child tested positive for a substance found in Anti-Freeze. The doctor reportedly said after receiving the results, his suspicion was raised even more that the child could have been poisoned.
The OCSO detective noted that Doctor Dewitt filed a report with DCF and Law Enforcement in West Palm Beach while he waited for further lab tests to confirm or disprove his suspicions.
WPBF 25 News has filed a request with the WPBPD for the 2014 report.
The OCSO detective ends the report by writing that he provided Doctor Dewitt with the case number and advised him to contact the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office as soon as he receives any lab results, in this case, that would show [the child] was or was not poisoned.
That was the last document included in the case, and no charges were filed.
WPBF 25 News reached out to the OCSO to ask why charges weren’t filed and where the investigation stands now.
According to a spokesperson, investigators did not have enough evidence at the time to press charges.
Despite no charges being filed, under Florida’s Williams Rule, the Okeechobee Police Department is now trying to use the 2014 case to support the new accusations against Adamo.
WPBF 25 News caught up with Dave Aronberg, an attorney and former Palm Beach County State Attorney, who explained how the Williams Rule works.
“Florida, like other states, allows certain evidence of prior bad acts to come into a criminal trial, but you can’t use it to prove propensity, meaning, well, he’s a bad dude, so you know he did it here. The only way you can get it in is to show that this act was so similar to other acts that it’s like their M.O., their personal stamp,” Aronberg said.
For example, Aronberg said if a prosecutor could show someone who is accused of attacking and murdering someone in a specific way had done the same thing in the past, the past incident can be used as Williams Rule evidence.
Aronberg said the Williams Rule can be used even if the person was never charged in the incident being used as evidence.
“You can use prior uncharged acts as long as the evidence is relevant to prove what’s called a material fact and issue, and not merely to prove bad character or propensity to commit the crime,” he added.
To ensure the person’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial is not violated, Aronberg said prosecutors have to be extremely careful when using the Williams Rule.
“If someone is being charged with using antifreeze to poison someone, and you can show that they were investigated for doing the same thing a few years ago, that’s relevant. If they were investigated for doing the same thing many years ago, well, then it’s a question for the judge whether it’s too remote in time,” he said.
Aronberg said prosecutors need to prove the past allegations are relevant.
“So essentially, you want to see that this is a pattern. This is the modus operandi of someone. That’s why you can bring it in. But if it crosses the line into showing, yeah, bad guy then, bad guy now, that jeopardizes the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial,” Aronberg said.
The Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office confirmed they are reviewing old cases, including the 2014 investigation, and are asking parents whose children were under Adamo’s care to come forward.
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