Sara E. Landers
/ photo: OCSO
FULTON -- On July 5th, the area was in the midst of a heat wave and temperatures were in the 90s. On that day, police say Fulton mother Sara Landers made a tragic decision while visiting a Volney home with her nine month old daughter Reba.
"The mother put her into a trailer," said Oswego County Sheriff Reuel Todd. "She checked on her later and found the child to not be breathing."
Reba Landers was pronounced dead at Oswego Hospital. The Medical Examiner found she died of environmental hyperthermia brought on by heat exposure. Sheriff Todd isn't saying how long the child was left in the unventilated trailer that didn't have air conditioning, but said the child's body temperature was significantly elevated.
Sara Landers is charged with manslaughter and Sheriff Todd said she should have recognized the danger the child was in.
"You certainly should be checking on a child that young in that kind of heat," said Todd on Tuesday afternoon.
Fulton neighbors were shocked by the allegations and said someone needed to look out for a baby that couldn't look out for itself.
"For a nine month old, if it's really that hot out - put them in a cold bathtub, stay with your kid," said Nikita Smith. "You're hot, take them to the lake with you. Don't leave them in a trailer."
"I have friends that are trying their best to do what they can for their kids," said Jean Martinez. "Just ask for help - that's all I am asking is just ask for help for anybody out there."
Sara Landers is being held in the Oswego County Correctional Facility. Her next court appearance is scheduled for August 16th.
Click here to read Reba Landers' obituary.
Original Story:
An Oswego County woman is under arrest after police say she caused the death of her own child.
According to the Oswego County Sheriff’s Office, deputies arrested 22-year-old Sara E. Landers of Rochester Street in Fulton on Tuesday and charged her with felony second degree manslaughter. Police say their investigation began on July 5 when deputies responded to a report of an unresponsive infant in the Town of Volney. Police say their investigation determined that Landers recklessly caused the death of her nine-month-old girl.
Sheriff Reuel Todd tells CNY Central that the infant was left inside a camper on the property. The child was put down for a nap inside the camper, which had no ventilation or air conditioning. Todd says the temperature became very hot inside the camper, and the child was not checked on for a long period of time.
Todd also said the child's father was present at the residence that day, but Landers was allegedly responsible for putting the child into the camper.
Police say the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death to be environmental hyperthermia, which is an elevated body temperature. Exposure to heat is listed as a contributing factor to the child's death in the coroner's report.
According to CNY Central Chief Meteorologist Wayne Mahar, the daytime temperature reached a high of 94 degrees at Hancock International Airport on July 5, and was likely 90-94 degrees inland in Oswego County.
Landers was arraigned in the Town of Volney Court and remanded to the Oswego County Correctional Facility in lieu of $20,000 cash bail or $40,000 bail bond. She is scheduled to reappear in court on August 16.
Police say the case remains under investigation.
