Friday, August 3, 2012
Troubling new information has been uncovered about a Wichita day care where a baby died last year. The boy's parents are now speaking out after learning the facility should not have been open.
Pictures of Xander Brody fill his mother Nick and Jill Winslow's Wichita home. His smile lights up every room, but Xander is gone. He died at just 17 months old while staying at Amy's Lil Angels Day Care.
"He was very fearless. Nothing ever scared him. He was very loving... very energetic," said Jill Winslow.
Xander died in Feb. 2011 in a playpen that had previously been recalled for safety issues. The day care provider placed him in that playpen in an upstairs bedroom and closed the door. Xander tried climbing out and asphyxiated.
Documents show that months before Xander's death, state inspectors found multiple of violations at Amy's Lil Angels Day Care, including one in which a caretaker placed a baby in a playpen on another floor of the home for a nap, just like they did with Xander.
"She should have been closed down - or notified us whether to keep child there - or found someone else to keep our child safe," said Winslow.
Shortly after Xander's death, the Winslows say they were blessed to learn they were expecting. Their 8-month-old son Riker helps them get through the tough times, but more than anything, they want the laws changed to protect other families.
"We want to prevent this from happening to anyone else. This is definitely one of the worst things to happen to a parent," said Winslow.
Kansas Department of Health and Environment officials say the violations they found in at Amy's Lil Angels Day Care before Xander's death were typical and minor for a start-up day care. It says the department doesn't grant licenses, only temporary permits, until violations can be corrected.
Investigators say Amy's Lil Angels Daycare never received its license. It has since been shut down.
The KDHE has set up a page on its website where parents can check on day care violations. You can visit that page by clicking the link below.
