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Plea agreement for mother of Peighton Geraw

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A woman accused of killing her 15-month-old son in 2014 reached a plea deal in her case last week.

Nytosha Laforce, 30, pleaded no contest in criminal court in Chittenden County Friday to charges of manslaughter and cruelty to a child under age 10 in the death of her son, Peighton Geraw.

Geraw died on April 4, 2014. An autopsy found signs of shaken baby syndrome, including brain bleeding and neck injuries.

Nytosha Laforce

Nytosha Laforce, 28, of Winooski pleaded not guilty to second degree murder in Chittenden Superior Court in Burlington on Wednesday. She was charged in the death of her 15-month-old son, Peighton Geraw. Pool photo by Glenn Russell/Burlington Free Press

Two days earlier, Geraw was brought to the hospital because he seemed to be sick. After treating Geraw, the doctor notified the Department for Children and Families of possible child abuse.

As a result of the call, a social worker had visited the family, inspected bruises on both sides of the boy’s body, and left the home just minutes before Laforce called 911 because her son was not breathing.

Laforce’s boyfriend, Tyler Chicoine, told police she was responsible for the injuries.

Laforce was initially charged with second-degree murder in her son’s death, a crime that carries a penalty of 20 years to life in prison.

Under the plea deal, she was sentenced to serve a minimum of six years and a maximum of 15 years in prison, with credit since she was incarcerated in 2014. She will be on probation until October 2036. The agreement also imposes condition restricting unsupervised contact with children under age 10, requiring substance abuse treatment and others.

Peighton Geraw

Police say Peighton Geraw, 15 months old, was killed by his mother, Nytosha Laforce, 28, of Winooski in April 2014. Courtesy photo

Laforce’s attorney, Bob Katims said despite the plea deal, Laforce is firm on her stance that she did not kill the child.

“She steadfastly maintains that she didn’t do anything to harm her son,” Katims said.

However, Katims said, jury trials can be risky. Laforce decided it was better to reach a settlement in which she did not admit guilt instead of risking a longer sentence if the jury believed Chicoine.

Laforce opted for the plea deal “because she feared that somebody that she knows was not telling the truth would be believed,” Katims said.

Chittenden County State’s Attorney TJ Donovan said changing the charge from second-degree murder to manslaughter guaranteed that Laforce would be incarcerated.

“We wanted the certainty of a conviction,” Donovan said.

He noted that the circumstances surrounding Geraw’s death made a jury trial risky, and he was committed to resolving the case with a conviction.

“There were two people in the room. It was going to be a he said, she said,” Donovan said. “Those are difficult cases to prove.”

Katims also said that cases that rely on two witnesses are extremely challenging to resolve.

“These are the hardest cases I think that the court system has to deal with,” Katims said.

The social worker who inspected Geraw shortly before the child was pronounced dead did not face any charges.

Geraw’s death came less than two months after the death of 2-year-old Dezirae Sheldon, of Poultney. Both children had been in contact with DCF prior to their deaths, and their cases prompted efforts to reform the state’s child protection system.

Sheldon’s stepfather, Dennis Duby, is facing charges for second-degree murder of the toddler. That case, which is in the criminal court in Rutland, has yet to go to trial.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Plea agreement for mother of Peighton Geraw.


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