Babysitter Sentenced for Deaths of 2 Toddlers

(Erie, Pennsylvania) In May 2007, a 19-year-old babysitter, Brittany N. Steward, fell asleep while watching two toddlers who consequently died.

Steward's half-sister, 20-month-old Jenna Walker, and her friend, two-year-old Maggie Kovski, had wandered off while Steward slept and they drowned in a neighborhood fishing pond.

Apparently, Steward attended a late-night party before her babysitting assignment and just could not stay awake after drinking and partying into the early morning hours. She was arrested on two counts each of involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person.

This week, Brittany Steward was sentenced after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child in accordance with a plea agreement.

Erie County Judge John Garhart followed a recommendation by prosecutors Tuesday and sentenced Steward to 11½ to 23 months in Erie County Prison on two counts of endangering the welfare of children, stemming from the toddlers' deaths.

"If I were to hold you fully accountable for the harm you have done, then you would never be free," he said.

"My job is to sentence you for recklessness."

After she completes her jail sentence, Steward is required to serve 44 months on probation, a number derived by adding the ages of the two dead toddlers.

Steward apologized for her actions during the court proceeding.