A Four-Month-Old Baby Went to Daycare for a Nap. The CCTV Footage Revealed Something His Parents Never Expected.

A Four-Month-Old Baby Went to Daycare for a Nap. The CCTV Footage Revealed Something His Parents Never Expected.

On February 3, 2021, four-month-old Charles “Charlie” Cronmiller was dropped off at Little Lovey, an in-home daycare in Dunwoody, Georgia. His parents had trusted the daycare owner, Amanda Harris Hickey, to care for their baby while they went about their daily lives. Charlie was still too young to protect himself or even reliably change his own position while sleeping.

That afternoon, Hickey placed Charlie down for a nap. She later told investigators that she had put him on his back and believed he had somehow rolled onto his stomach. But when investigators examined the daycare's surveillance footage, the recording told a different story. The video showed Hickey placing Charlie face-down in a portable crib and leaving him there. Charlie struggled for an extended period before eventually becoming motionless, while Hickey did not return to check on him for more than two hours.

When Hickey eventually discovered that Charlie was unresponsive, emergency services were called. Police and medical personnel responded, but Charlie could not be saved. He was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital. His death was initially devastating enough on its own, but investigators soon began examining what had actually happened inside the daycare that day.

The surveillance footage became a crucial part of the investigation. What investigators discovered went beyond Charlie's death. The cameras had recorded other disturbing incidents involving children in Hickey's care, including allegations that she pulled children's hair, handled them roughly, pushed or dropped them, and placed other babies in unsafe positions. Prosecutors said the children involved ranged from about six months to 18 months old.

Investigators also learned that Little Lovey was licensed to care for six children, yet prosecutors said there were 10 children inside the home on the day Charlie died. They argued that Hickey had increased the number of children she cared for during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating an environment in which the abuse and dangerous conduct occurred. The state ultimately revoked her daycare license, and Little Lovey was shut down.

Charlie’s death became the central case against Hickey, but his parents were not the only family devastated by what investigators uncovered. During sentencing, parents of other children who had been in Hickey's care described injuries, behavioral changes and lasting trauma. Several families told the court that they had trusted Hickey completely and had never imagined what could happen to their children after they were dropped off each morning.

Hickey ultimately entered an Alford plea to second-degree murder in connection with Charlie's death. An Alford plea allows a defendant to plead guilty while maintaining a claim of innocence. She also pleaded guilty to numerous charges involving cruelty to children, reckless conduct and battery relating to other children in her care.

During her sentencing hearing in October 2023, Hickey expressed sorrow and accepted responsibility for what happened. She told the court that she had broken the hearts of the families involved and described the person seen in the surveillance footage as someone who was struggling at the time. The judge, however, described the footage as deeply disturbing and sentenced Hickey to 35 years, with 30 years to be served in prison and five years on probation. She was also prohibited from working with young children after her release and was ordered to have no contact with the victims or their families.

For Charlie's parents, the pain did not end with the sentence. They had entrusted their firstborn son to someone they believed would keep him safe, only to learn that the surveillance cameras inside the daycare had captured his final hours. They later created a foundation in Charlie's memory focused on safe infant sleep and protecting other children.

Charlie was only four months old when he died. The cameras that were intended to monitor children during the day ultimately became the evidence that exposed what had happened behind the closed doors of a daycare his parents believed they could trust.