FREMONT, Ohio — Editor's note: The above video originally aired on June 18, 2023.
A Fremont woman was found guilty on multiple charges involving the death of a toddler while in her care in 2022.
Kori Seavers, 38, entered an Alford plea on Dec. 1 and was found guilty on charges of involuntary manslaughter, endangering children and felonious assault. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 19 at 9 a.m.
Fremont police officers responded to a home in the 600 block of Sixth Street on Sept. 20, 2022 after receiving a call from Seavers who said one of the children for whom she was babysitting was unresponsive. At the time, she was babysitting 21-month-old Bova and his 4-year-old sister, in addition to several other children as a part of an in-home daycare business. Emergency crews transported Bova to the hospital and police said he had a pulse but was not breathing.
Seavers told authorities she had left Bova unattended for two minutes while she made him a bottle, then returned to change his diaper. She said she sat the child upright, but he fell forward with his face on the floor. Seavers said this was typical behavior for Bova when he was upset as he is non-verbal, something family members corroborated in police reports.
Seavers told police she picked up Bova and found he was limp and wasn't breathing. Following this, Seavers called 911.
Physicians at the hospital said Bova was suffering from acute subdural hemorrhaging in the head cavity, a midline shift of the brain and extensive retinal hemorrhaging in both eyes. Because of his injuries, healthcare professionals placed Bova in a medically induced coma. Physicians also tested Bova's urine for drugs, though all of the tests were negative.
The report also stated Bova had no visible cerebral blood flow and, following two brain-death exams, doctors declared the child dead on Sept. 24, 2022. Physicians said Bova's injuries pointed to non-accidental trauma.
In the report, police said they asked doctors if Bova could have sustained these injuries by falling down. A physician was quoted as having said it was "unlikely" as no bump was present on the child's head and Bova was suffering from a significant brain bleed.
"I have never seen injuries this severe that were caused by a child falling down," a physician said to Fremont police officers.
Bova's injuries were described as "non-accidental" and "consistent with a shaken baby" in the police report.
Seavers claimed she never shook or harmed Bova during interviews with police. Police claimed Seavers "[changed] her story and was all over the place with her answers" when speaking about Bova's death during interviews. Bova's family told authorities they could not think of any previous issues with Seavers, who had been babysitting Bova and his sister since June 2022.
A report from the Lucas County Coroner's Office said Bova's injuries would have had a noticeable effect on the child almost immediately after he sustained them. Officials ruled his death a homicide of child abuse due to "abusive head trauma."
Based on these findings, authorities determined Bova's injuries must have been sustained while in Seavers' care and arrested her on June 16, 2023.
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