PORTLAND, Ore. — Three women have been indicted on charges of criminally negligent homicide and manslaughter following the death of a 4-month-old boy at an unlicensed daycare in Hood River.
Rochelle Jones, Debra Jones and Donna Pilcher were indicted last month in Hood River County court. They're also facing criminal mistreatment charges, as well as five counts of operating a child care facility without certification.
The charges are connected to the death of Cyrus Macioroski, who passed away on May 15. Court documents allege the women, who ran Mama Shell's Day Care, left Cyrus "unattended at a place for a period of time that was likely to endanger [his] health and welfare."
Mama Shell's Day Care license was revoked in April 2017, following an investigation dating back to September 2016 by the Department of Human Services. The department found workers at Mama Shell's gave children "little white pills" of melatonin so they would sleep at nap times, according to KGW's news partners at the Oregonian.
Despite their license being revoked, the three women continued running the daycare thanks to the help of child care licensing compliance specialist Julie A. Smith, according to the Oregonian.
Pilcher was booked into jail this week. There are warrants out for Rochelle and Debra Jones' arrests.
