Georgia babysitter Phillissa Diallo has pleaded guilty to killing a 2-year-old girl by giving her lethal doses of Tylenol and Benadryl before mutilating the child's body and hiding it in a plastic storage bin, prosecutors said.
Diallo, 44, was admitted in a Cherokee County court to second-degree murder, second-degree cruelty to children, and concealing the death of another in the 2022 death of Alyssa Rose Davis, according to the Cherokee County District Attorney's Office.
She was sentenced to 37 years, with 21 years to be served in prison and the remainder on probation under supervision, court officials said. The plea and sentence were announced last week, bringing an end to a case that shocked the Canton, Georgia, community, according to People.
Investigators said Diallo had been babysitting Alyssa for more than two weeks before the toddler died while in her care. During that period, prosecutors allege, Diallo repeatedly gave the child medications containing acetaminophen and diphenhydramine — found in Tylenol and Benadryl — in amounts far beyond what is safe for a child.
An autopsy later determined that Alyssa had lethal levels of both drugs in her system at the time of death, according to the district attorney's office.
After the child died, Diallo mutilated the girl's body and placed the remains in a plastic storage bin filled with a salt-like substance, authorities said. Prosecutors said the bin was then hidden inside a closet in Diallo's home in an apparent attempt to conceal the death and delay discovery, Law and Crime reported.
Law enforcement officers who responded to a welfare check discovered the body after relatives raised concerns about the child's whereabouts, according to charging documents summarized by local media.
Surveillance footage from a doorbell camera reportedly showed that Diallo left Alyssa alone inside the home for an extended period on the day of the child's death. The video evidence became a key part of the investigation, helping authorities establish a timeline of when the toddler was last seen alive and when Diallo returned.
Family members told investigators that Alyssa's mother did not immediately know her daughter was dead and believed the child remained safely with the babysitter. Authorities have said the mother learned of Alyssa's death only after police located the toddler's body and notified the family, as per AOL.
