A Pennsylvania mom’s trial has begun after she allegedly abused her adopted 5-year-old son, forcing him to drink from the toilet bowl before he died of blunt-force trauma.
Lauren Maloberti has been charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault and child endangerment in connection to the death of Landon Maloberti.
Meanwhile, Lauren’s ex-husband, Jacob Maloberti, is facing the same charges.
Her trial began on Tuesday, May 5, and Jacob, 36, is expected to testify against her, according to The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
“She took a sacred responsibility and chose to be a mother. Then it turned into cruelty,” Assistant District Attorney Cassidy Hatten told jurors during the opening arguments on May 5, per the outlet. “Landon was isolated, mistreated, terrorized and killed. Not by a stranger but by a person who was supposed to protect him.”
The abuse was discovered when Lauren, 36, and Jacob brought an unconscious Landon to a Pittsburgh-area hospital on January 30, 2023. He was then transferred to a children’s hospital, where he died about a week later.
“Landon was in the care and supervision of his adoptive family leading up to his death,” the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement at the time of the boy’s death, per Law & Crime. “A forensic examination revealed previous injuries and evidence of abuse prior to his death, as well.”
An investigation was launched into the matter and both Lauren and Jacob were arrested in connection to Landon’s death.
Medical staff at the first hospital allegedly told investigators that there was “no urgency” when Lauren and Jacob brought their son to the hospital, and they told staff that the boy was just “wobbly from COVID a month prior.”
During the trial, prosecutors explained that Lauren’s cousin was the boy’s biological mother and she was granted custody of him when he was about 2 months old in 2017, and adopted the boy two years later. Lauren later married Jacob in 2021.
At the time Landon was taken to the hospital, medical staff allegedly found dozens of bruises on his body and he was diagnosed with catastrophic brain trauma. The assistant DA concluded that he died from blunt-force trauma.
Lauren’s defense team argued that the case was “complicated” during the trial and suggested that prosecutors were misrepresenting what happened leading up to Landon’s death.
“It’s an emotional case,” Lauren’s attorney, Adam Gozelsky, said, according to WTAE. “We have a child who’s deceased. I’m not even sure the commonwealth knows what happened with Landon. It’s a complicated situation.”
“They’re taking every opportunity to try and tell everyone how bad of a mother Lauren was and paint a picture of her,” he said of the prosecutors. “It’s just not there. The facts of this case are complicated. They are not straightforward by any means.”
As for the prosecutors, they claimed that Lauren abused Landon on several occasions. Other children who live in the house reportedly told investigators that Lauren smacked Landon, ignored and isolated him, forced to drink from a toilet and disciplined him more than anyone else.
The trial is expected to last two weeks and testimony will resume on Wednesday, May 6. Jacob’s trial has not yet started regarding his charges.
If you suspect child abuse, please call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit ChildHelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential, and the hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
