A Maryland woman is facing the rest of her life behind bars after being convicted Monday of fatally force-feeding an 8-month-old girl in her care in October 2016.
In a press release issued to People, the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney announced that a judge convicted Oluremi Adeleye, 73, of second-degree murder, first-degree child abuse resulting in death, and second-degree child abuse for the death of Enita Salubi.
Prosecutors accused Adeleye of unscrewing the top of Salubi’s baby bottle and pouring eight ounces of milk down her throat in 30 seconds, essentially drowning the infant. The Washington Post reported that a nanny camera caught the entire slaying.
Before the killing, video reportedly showed Salubi bouncing in a walker and pulling on Adeleye’s dress as she slept on a couch. The nanny was filmed force-feeding Salubi as she squirms and goes limp in her walker, and the footage also captured Adeleye picking up the lifeless infant and trying to repeat the process with a second bottle, according to the outlet.
WTTG reported that Adeleye was a live-in nanny who was responsible for caring for Nikia Porter and Influence Salubi’s three children.
Prosecutors successfully argued that Adeleye, a mother of five and grandmother of 10, knew her actions would result in the 8-month-old’s death.
“You have two loving, caring parents who did everything right,” Aisha N. Braveboy said, according to The Washington Post. “They interviewed the sitter, they got references and they did their homework and research by all accounts…but she abused this young child and the reason we were able to prove it is because the parents had the foresight to install a camera.”
Sentencing is scheduled for May 3. Meanwhile, Adeleye’s lawyer, Doug Wood, told People that they plan to appeal Monday’s conviction, claiming the infant had acute bronchopneumonia and that her condition could have played a role in her death.
Wood said, “We’re certainly disappointed with the verdict.”
[Featured image: Oluremi Adeleye/Prince George Police Department; Enita Salubi/WXIA video screengrab]