Mom SLAMS Daycare Owner in Baby Son’s Death

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. No, only take a deep breath. Hey, Aaron. An unlicensed daycare owner detained by US Marshals is now headed to prison in the tragic death of an eight-month-old boy in her care. And we're speaking directly with the boy's mom. As she continues to grieve, the loss of her son, she told us what the daycare owner told her. After her son's death and why she says she feels betrayed by a woman who she thought she could trust. I trusted her word. I trusted her to keep him safe. They took everything away from us. You know, we went from planning our future with him and his future to planning this funeral. What she has to say about the punishment, the woman's now receiving as she shares eye-opening new details about the investigation. We're on the case presented by Law and Crime. I'm Chris Stoop. Shortly after we aired the body camera footage of this daycare owner hyperventilating as she's arrested in connection to the death of a boy in her care. The boy's mom reached out to me on social media and she said there's more to the story and she wants to share what she experienced on that terrible day. Her son was eight-month-old grant Simmons. And when he died, he was at the home of Melanie Damarsio. Damarsio ran a daycare in East Canto, Ohio that the city says shouldn't have been an operation to begin with. And seven months after Grant's death, that woman, Melanie Damarsio, she's just days away from beginning a prison sentence after she pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment. Now Grant's mom, Missy Williams says she has a lot to say about what happened as she is living a daily nightmare of losing her son. It's still hard to live every day without him. He brought so much joy and happiness to our lives. She was more worried about planning her crews and other things that day instead of watching all the children that were there. We have more of what Missy told me here in just a moment, including some shocking information. She says she's learned throughout the investigation in this case like the multitude of lies she said came from the defendant Melanie Damarsio before and after her son's death. I also want to bring you some details from the daycare owner sentencing hearing including her ultimate punishment, which Williams says simply doesn't cut it. But if you're just joining us, I want to recap how we got to this point. This story begins on March 10th of this year at 139 in the afternoon. That is when an officer from the East Canton Police Department responded to a home to assist paramedics with a medical emergency involving eight-month-old Grant Simmons. When the officer arrived, medics were already on their way to the hospital. So the responding officer spoke with a woman who is still present at the home and that is 45-year-old Melanie Damarsio. According to the incident report, Damarsio pointed the officer in the direction of Grant's mom, Missy, who we spoke with, Missy was still at the home. The officer and Grant's mom then go to the hospital. As emergency staff tried to revive the eight-month-old boy, the police officer says this is what Missy told him. Quote, she advised that she dropped off her son to the babysitter earlier in the morning when the babysitter later contacted her by phone stating that the child was not breathing. She stated she spoke to her by phone at approximately 120 pm. She stated that she had no indication of what could have happened to the child. A nurse came into the hallway and assisted the mother into the room where the child was pronounced deceased a short time later. Now according to the Canton repository, prosecutors said that Grant suffocated after being put down for a nap on a bed instead of a crib. And you will hear Grant's mom say that she was told that Grant would be sleeping in a crib. Now Melanie Damarsio, not only did she have this terrible tragedy that happened at her home, which the city says was an unlicensed daycare. On March 23rd, just 13 days after Grant died, she tried to reopen. Through legal documents, we learned that a civil complaint filed by the village of Eastcannon was trying to stop that from happening, and in those filings, we do learn more details about this daycare operation, and they are very concerned. According to the lawsuit, when police interviewed Damarsio, she allegedly had difficulty recalling how many children she baby sat on a day-to-day basis, but she reportedly said that she has between 5 and 10 children, that she baby sits at the property in exchange for $45 cash per day. Now here's more of what the lawsuit alleges. Quote officers learned that the defendant Melanie Damarsio did not have appropriate supervision or sleeping arrangements for infants and toddlers at the property. Defendant Melanie Damarsio did not have current CPR certification or any other medical training and did not have any formal protocols for administering medications such as Tylenol, Eyedrops, a Moxasillin, but informed officers she would follow any instructions given to her by parents. Defendant Melanie Damarsio admitted that she had no emergency plan in place or formal protocol in the event of a fire or other emergency at the property. Defendant Melanie Damarsio further acknowledged that she did not utilize any baby monitors or cameras at the property to monitor children who were housed in different areas of the property. On the date that Grant Simmons unfortunately passed away, defendants had at least five children staying at the property, including him, two children who were 23 months old, a one-year-old child, a three-year-old child, and a four-year-old child. For one of the children who was one year old, defendant Melanie Damarsio informed officers with the East Canton Police Department that she did not know the child's last name. Now in addition to Damarsio's alleged lack of responsibility within the daycare operation, the lawsuit also accused the business itself of being unlicensed exceeding Ohio's limits on the number of children under the age of two, along with never obtaining the required conditional zoning certificate to operate within the home. The lawsuit was successful in preventing the daycare from further operations as the legal proceedings moved forward and back in September. The legal case was settled after Damarsio sold their home in July and agreed to pay the outstanding zoning violation fines and costs at closing. But her criminal case, that wasn't going anywhere. On July 16, Damarsio was indicted by a grand jury on a first-degree felony charge of involuntary manslaughter, a third-degree felony charge of endangering children, and another third-degree felony charge of involuntary manslaughter. Five days later, Damarsio was arrested at a different home with the assistance of U.S. Marshals. Give me a favor. Just turn around. We do have to cut the odd. Put your hand in your back. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, no, let me take a deep breath. Hey, Aaron, you can do it. I want to give her a pat down. What's that for? Don't put that word. Take your breath. Take a breath. Take a breath. Take a lock your knees. All right, I'm sure she'll be giving you guys a call here shortly. [Music] No, it's just pretty. Just breathe. You gotta breathe. [Music] Fast forward to October 27th, the day of Damarsio's trial, and she decides to enter a guilty plea on her charges. And based on those charges, Damarsio could have faced up to 11 years in prison, but one of the involuntary manslaughter charges was dropped as part of a plea deal, so she was ultimately sentenced to five years in prison. And that prison term is set to begin November 9th, and she'll spend one to three years on probation after her sentence is complete. Damarsio did not address the court before her sentence, but her attorney, man named Daniel Funk, said the following. "My client is extremely remorseful for what happened." Part of her reason for pleading today is she did not want the family to have to go through any more. This is an unfortunate tragedy. Here's my interview with Grant Simmons' mom, Missy Williams. Thank you for doing this, and I know there's a lot to get to and that you want to talk about, but just now that the court case part of it is wrapped up, just like, how are you and your family doing? We are struggling, even with the court case being done, it's still hard to live every day without him. He brought so much joy and happiness to our lives, you know, with me, his dad, his older brothers, his other siblings, we're just struggling. Yeah, I mean, I just can't imagine what you guys are going through and for everything to be, you know, as public as it is, what was your reaction to Melanie getting five years in prison? It was, it's not long enough, especially with hearing more evidence and seeing it. It definitely wasn't long enough. And I know, and I don't want you to relive, you know, I know probably in your mind that day is something that plays over a lot, but like just through kind of the court part of it, like you talk about the crews, like what are some of the pieces of information that, like, you learned for the first time, you know, as it was playing out? We have learned about her being on the phone pretty much that whole day. From planning her crews, drink packages to ordering her daughter a new phone, how he was found, because you knew Melanie before all of that, you know, it wasn't just a daycare. This was something that you personally, you personally knew beyond just, you know, the person who was having this daycare in her house. Correct, I've known her, her kids, her brother, her mom, you know, that side of the family and I trusted her, I trusted her word, I trusted her to keep him safe and, you know, he was literally a half a minute from my work, just a half a minute and I couldn't shave him. I mean, I don't want you to feel, you know, any bit, you know, this was a, you know, it's a situation that's on her, you know, like she's the one who, you know, and I know it's hard with grief to handle, you know, those things and you're, you know, I can see on social media you've been really active talking about Grant and just, you know, how special he was and I know you, you call him, call him your superhero. Yes. What do you want people to know about him? You know, 19 years after I had my last son, he came into our lives, always smiling, always wanting cuddles and play time and it's the joy that he brought to all of us. It was us getting up in the middle of the night and having, I always called it a party because he didn't know what sleep was, he was very alert, very observant and aware, naps were very few and far between, so we just made it a party for him and I don't know, there's so much to say about him, there's so much love. I don't know, I don't think we have enough time for everything about Grant. Oh, I mean, I, I mean, it just seems like from, you know, everything that you've shared, you know, on, on social media, you know, he, he was just such a special, a special boy and, you know, for people who have seen this story, I know we've reported on it, you know, and they see, you know, Melanie in court, what do you want people to know kind of about this case that maybe you're not seeing enough of when they cover it? Um, there's no trust anybody, whether it's your friend, family, word of mouth, because that's another way I found out about her daycare. Um, if they say their CPR certified, make sure that you get proof, um, she told me he snapped in a crib. There was no crib. Um, just check, check their credentials, make sure that they are tree to their word. And that way, you know, maybe you can save your child's life that way. I look back and wish that I would have done that, but they seem like the all-American family. How did you come about, kind of, finding the daycare and, and getting grant involved there? Well, um, word of mouth. And then I found out that, you know, she came recommended. And I'm like, oh, my goodness, I know her. And she was always so sweet. And here it was just all a front. What about, you know, and you obviously knew her, you know, she came well recommended. Um, and I know you also talked about how like, you know, she said he slept in a crib and like he didn't and, and, um, you know, you're also saying that she had told you he was, she was CPR certified. Um, what were some of the other things that, that she told you ahead of time that made you feel comfortable with her? Just how, um, she loves and takes care of all the kids. Um, they love coming to her. And just that he would be all taken care of. And it was everything but that. Like with the way that she set up the daycare too. I mean, what about, because I know like after the fact, you know, and like the city has talked about like it wasn't licensed the way, you know, it was this or that, um, was she upfront about that, like about like all the licensing or whatever, you know, was needed for the daycare? Yes. Um, she did tell me that she was unlicensed and that she was only allowed so many children. And at first, like she denied grant because her daycare was too full. Um, so, you know, when she messaged me about taking grant, you know, that's another way that I, I trusted her. So I'm like, okay, she couldn't take him because she had too many kids as it is. Um, yes, I, I, so she like reached out to you, because I know like initially you talked to her, she could take them. And then like then she came back to you to say like, hey, we, we have room. Yes. Well, how did she like, what was that conversation like? Um, she asked me if I still needed somebody, um, on more of a permanent basis. And I said, yes, and she said, I would love to have him. And I was excited because he was literally, you know, a little waste from me at work. And I talked to his dad and, you know, assured her that, you know, she can be trusted. I know you spoke at her sentencing. I sure did. Um, and I, I've seen some quotes of it, um, just in, in the local newspaper, but what was the message that you wanted her to hear from you when you got the opportunity to speak? We took everything away from us. You know, we went from planning our future with him and his future to planning his funeral. How she took away our life. You know, we'll never be the same after this. We haven't been the same. What like as you were kind of speaking like were you looking at her like what stood out to you because this you know was again someone who you trusted, you know and thought you knew and then to see her or you know sitting there as this person about to be sentenced like. Who is the person you saw in the courtroom that day. But when I was speaking about him, as soon as we walked in the courtroom, my eyes were just on her. And but when I spoke, I kind of pictured Grant. And that's the only thing like I was just staring off toward the front of the courtroom. And I wanted her to feel every word that I had to say. And just how much she took away from us. You know, it's not I, you know, my two children, other children are adults. And I try so hard to be positive and laugh and upbeat for them. And it's exhausting, you know, they deserve their mom the way she was. You know, she just said, I just, she just didn't take away my son. She took away their sibling, their future with him, our future. She needed to feel that way. She got five years, but we have a life sentence. And it's not fair. Do you feel that she feels remorse? Not just sad. Yeah, why is that? Why do you feel that she feels that way? You know, when her attorney spoke about how she was remorseful, the way I opened up was, does remorseful text the mother that night saying that she'd been admitted, does remorseful try to open up her daycare, the day of his funeral? Or does remorseful post on social media, a picture on their cruise with all of her kids saying, family is forever. That's not remorseful. You're only remorseful for yourself. She had enough nerve to tell me that she loved Grant as much as her own. I don't want you to relive that day. I do every day and getting his story out. And saving other lives of children. It's very important to us. His dad and I both. And I mean, what communication did you have with Melanie after, you know, when this terrible tragedy happens on that day? How soon after did you speak to her? That evening, because my vehicle was still in her driveway, because an officer had taken me up to the hospital, because I couldn't drive. I told her that my car is going to be parked there, and then I told her, you know, a friend of mine is going to move it, and that way it's not blocked in her driveway, because I defended her at first. Completely defended her, because I didn't want to believe. So she texted back. I don't know who's going to be home. I'm being admitted. And then I cut like I stopped responding to her that day. And what she admitted for. I guess they found her unresponsive. She must have a medical emergency. You know, our son. Passes away in your care. And we are still standing on our own two feet. I walked into that hospital room where he was at. And begged him to come back. I had to see. Frank's dad break down. My, my oldest son, my daughter-in-law. I felt their pain as well. And here we are still standing. But you want to text me that you're being admitted. How soon after Grand's death, did you realize that she was not being honest with you? And that there was something going on here that would lead to criminal charges? Well, his dad called it from the beginning. And. It was when an officer from East Canton Police Department asked me to look through evidence photos because something wasn't sitting right. Because she had text me at 123 about him. I'm being outside of his diaper. And. She couldn't find any extra clothes. She was in his bag a few times. When I'm looking through these evidence photos, the first photo was a picture of a sleeper sack, which I've never used on any of my voice ever. So I'm like, that's not his. And then. His outfit is dad's favorite outfit that I grabbed that morning was in there. She did text me in one of the texts after. Saying. She gave me a bottle. He. He barely ate in a sense. I don't remember exactly how she worded it. But in her statement. She said that he drank his bottle. He seemed tired and went right down. And then he said, "I'm not going to wear a dress. it took rocking, it took playing his favorite song, me singing to him because he loved you are my sunshine. So I sang to him that every single day like so that's when it hit me when his outfit was in there. I was like wait a minute she's not being honest. So that's that's when it hit me and that was around a week after. Did you ever confront her about that that you felt like she wasn't being honest. No. When she sent that last text around 9 something that night on March 10th, I did not communicate with her at all afterwards. I didn't, I don't know if it was my subconscious or or what, but now I didn't want to talk to her after that. I know you talk often on social media about and you just said it, you know, making sure that, you know, going through what you are going through that you can save other kids' lives and grand story can save others. How do you hope that his story can have an impact on other people? You know, learning that he has saved lives and he's going to continue to save lives, you know, So that's where the superhero comes in. Just getting a story out there so parents can be more aware of the dangers that are out there. Unsafe sleep in places. You know, she'd even have cameras. And just make sure you check everybody's credentials. Like I said, friends, family. doesn't matter. And I wish looking back that I would have done all of that. Is there anything I missed or anything else you want people to know? That grants a hero. To us, to other kids, to people that didn't even know him, but was watching him grow up on the social media in the love that he had to give and the bright future that he had. >> Just remember him for being a hero. >> Thank you, Missy, for talking to us. >> Thank you. >> I know this isn't -- this is not easy. >> It's not easy. >> Under better circumstances. >> Missy told me she is thankful for the work of prosecutors and police in her son's case. And she is also hoping that stricter laws can be passed to stop unlicensed daycares. And there can be harsher punishments put in place in the wake of cases just like her son's. That will do it for this episode of On The Case presented by Long Crime. I'm Chris Stewart. We'll see you next time.