PROVIDENCE – A Rhode Island mother was found guilty of manslaughter in the 2020 death of her 9-month-old son, prosecutors said.
A Kent County Superior Court jury handed down the verdict to Katherine Castaneda, 30, on Friday, following a six-day trial, Timothy Rondeau, a spokesman for the state Attorney General’s Office, said in an emailed statement to the Globe on Thursday.
Castaneda remains free on bail, Rondeau said. She is scheduled to be sentenced on July 25.
According to prosecutors, a medical examiner determined Castaneda’s son, Jayson “JJ” Flores died from “a complex skull fracture and an epidural hematoma.”
Flores first became “symptomatic” on the evening of Dec. 1, 2020, when he was in the care of his mother in East Greenwich, R.I., Rondeau said.
JJ’s condition was the same the following morning and he “never opened his eyes,” according to Rondeau. Castaneda then put the infant in a car seat and dropped him off in Cranston with a babysitter, a family friend, Rondeau said. Castaneda told the friend JJ was sleeping, he said.
Castaneda then left the infant in the car seat and went to work, according to officials. A few hours later, after JJ did not wake up and felt cold to the touch, the babysitter called Castaneda, Rondeau said.
“When the defendant arrived, she found JJ in the same position in which she left him, stiff and unresponsive, at which point she called 911,” Rondeau said. “Despite the exhaustive efforts of first responders, JJ was declared deceased at Rhode Island Hospital on Dec. 2, 2020, at approximately 1:20 p.m.”
Court records show Castaneda was indicted on May 2, 2022, and pleaded not guilty at her arraignment the following month.
An attorney for Castaneda could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.
Comment count: