A 66-year-old Nigerian nanny, Oluremi Oyindasola has been charged for the asphyxiation of a baby girl in her care. According to the charges filed in Prince George’s County, in the State of Maryland, Oyindasola allegedly force-fed two bottles to the baby and the child choked to death.
Police revealed the nanny was caught on surveillance camera forcefully feeding the little girl with the two bottles.
Eight-month-old Enitan Salubi of Glenarden died Monday afternoon after she was rushed to a hospital, Prince George’s County Police said.
Authorities said video camera footage shows the events that led to the little girl’s death.
The nanny was asleep on a couch inside the house Monday when the baby, who was in a walker, began crying and woke the nanny, police said.
Police said a surveillance camera showed the nanny tried to feed the baby, but without success. Oyindasola then pulled the baby from her walker, removed the nipple from her bottle and forcefully fed her, police said.
“She forcefully poured the two bottles of what looks to be milk down the baby’s mouth, causing her to not be able to breathe, suffocating her, and eventually she died at the hospital,” said Col. Harry Bond of Prince George’s County Police.
Charging documents say that the nanny appeared “to pour a large amount of white liquid directly inside the “victim’s mouth.”
The baby appeared to squirm and resist while being fed the first bottle, and then Oyindasola forced the contents of a second bottle into her mouth, the documents said.
The baby became unresponsive, and Oyindasola called the baby’s father, who dialed 911 as he raced home.
Clifton Wanzer, a neighbor, said he saw the little girl’s father carry her to an ambulance.
She was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Police said an autopsy revealed Salubi’s cause of death was asphyxiation, and the manner of death was homicide.
Oyindasola, of Glenarden, is in custody, police said Wednesday. She is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree child abuse resulting in death, and related charges.
Description of the way the baby was fed is common in Nigeria and West Africa as a whole. In a bid to ensure infants are fed properly, parents feed babies by passing milk through the mouth.