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Horror as little girl, 3, killed by lice after parents allowed infestation that left her anemic

A New York state couple was sentenced to the maximum prison sentence after their 3-year-old daughter died when her body became so infested with lice that she became anemic

[Joycelynn Dylewski]

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Matthew Dylewski, 34, and Samantha Dylewski, 33, called an ambulance on Feb. 19, 2025, after their three-year-old daughter, Joycelynn Ann Dylewski, was struggling to breathe(Image: Facebook)

A New York state couple was sentenced to the maximum prison sentence after their 3-year-old daughter died when her body became so infested with lice that she became anemic.

Matthew Dylewski, 34, and Samantha Dylewski, 33, called an ambulance on Feb. 19, 2025, after their daughter, Joycelynn Ann Dylewski, was struggling to breathe. The family lived in an apartment in Corinth, about an hour outside of Albany.

The child was rushed to a hospital, where she later died. Authorities later deemed her death a homicide, as the medical examiner concluded that her cause of death was related to acute and chronic neglect.

According to the Times Union, Jocelynn was ravaged by lice before her death, which led her to develop anemia, essentially weakening her heart and other organs. The medical examiner also found she had clonidine, a blood pressure medication, in her system when she passed.

Samantha told investigators that she was unable to treat her daughters lice because she fought her too much when she tried to apply treatment to her scalp. She added that Jocelynn consumed clonidine because her older brother accidentally misplaced it.

[Joycelynn Dylewski and her parents who were arrested]

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Samantha told investigators that she was unable to treat her daughters lice because she fought her too much when she tried to apply treatment to her scalp(Image: Facebook)

However, the Saratoga County First Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Buckley said that Samantha and her husband had discussed in text messages Jocelynns consumption of the drug.

Her husband tells her she can give it to Joycelynn. Shortly after Joycelynns death, theres an internet search on the cellphone to search for how long it would stay in the system, Buckley said in court.

Buckley also stressed in court the unsanitary conditions the family lived in, describing the family home as infested with flies, with food rotting on the surface, furnishings tainted, and the kitchen sink clogged.

Released images of the apartment show expired food items and wrappers across the bedroom floor. Investigators also revealed a dead cockroach was found on the girl's body when she was found in the apartment, and her teeth were "rotten and black."

Ive never really been in too many places where I had to shovel so much trash off the floor, Dan Shippee, owner of Phoenix Property Maintenance, the company that was called to clean the apartment by the property landlord after the incident, said. There were dead flies and bugs all over that apartment.

[ house deemed unlivable]

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Released images of the apartment show expired food items and wrappers across the bedroom floor(Image: Phoenix Property Maintenance/Facebook)

The parents pleaded guilty on Monday and were handed the maximum sentence of 16 months to four years in prison. The court also ordered them to cease contact with their four surviving children, all aged under 17, until June 2038.

Saratoga County Judge James R Davis told the parents that the circumstances surrounding their daughters death was the most horrific he has ever read, The Times Union reported.

Your daughter suffered over a long period of time, Davis said. Even the other children could see that she suffered because of your neglect. Its a gift to have a child. You had several children, and all of them suffered at your hands.

The chilling case caught the attention of locals, including State Sen. James Tedisco, Assemblyman Simpson, and Saratoga County District Attorney Brett Eby, who are now pushing to pass Jocelynns Law to increase the maximum prison sentence for criminally negligent homicide of a child to 20 years to life.

[Joycelynn Dylewski]

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The chilling case caught the attention of locals, including State Sen. James Tedisco, Assemblyman Simpson, and Saratoga County District Attorney Brett Eby, who are now pushing to pass Jocelynns Law(Image: Facebook)

Joycelynn Dylewski deserved a happy childhood and to grow up and reach her full potential in a loving home. What she endured as a 3-year-old child at the hands of her parents is sickening and unimaginable. This was premeditated criminal neglect of a child! Her death wasnt caused by a fit of anger and one or two violent acts toward Joycelynn, but in premeditated actions over a period of time! Even to the extent that her cries of pain and anguish were silenced by an illicit drug, Tedisco said in a statement.

Joycelynns Law, named in Joycelynn Dylewskis memory, would change the law so those convicted of criminally negligent homicide of a child get real prison time of 20 years to life instead of the current maximum of 1 and 1/3 to 4 years, so the sentence reflects the severity of the crime. The sentence these individuals got under the current law is not justice for Joycelynn. A modicum of justice would be to strengthen the law and send perpetrators of these crimes to prison for 20 years to life, he added.

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