Wisconsin Babysitter Charged With Killing 2-Month-Old Boy, Hiding Death From Mother

A Wisconsin babysitter was charged with murder on Friday after she allegedly killed a 2-month-old baby and tried to hide signs the infant was dead when his mother arrived to pick him up.

Marissa Tietsort, 28, knew the baby had died in her care but didn't tell his mother, the Wausau Daily Herald reported, citing court documents. Tietsort allegedly dressed the dead child in winter clothes and covered him in blankets, enough to temporarily conceal his condition from his mom.

Tietsort has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the baby's death. She has been in the Marathon County Jail on a $250,000 bond since October, following an arrest in connection with a separate child abuse case. Her bond in the homicide case is $500,000.

According to the criminal complaint, the baby's mother dropped him and his older brother at Tietsort's house in Wausau on the afternoon of Oct. 18. Two hours later, Tietsort texted the mom and told her about a local media report concerning the earlier child abuse case. Tietsort told the mother not to mention that she was watching the two boys, because she was not supposed to have contact with children.

Three hours after that, the mother went to pick up her sons at Tietsort's house, where she found the two-month-old dressed in a snowsuit with a hat pulled down over his eyes. The mother later told police she thought the infant was sleeping because it was past 9 p.m., according to the criminal complaint.

The mother then left Tietsort's home with no knowledge of what had happened to the baby. She realized his condition only after taking him with her to a nearby laundromat, where she saw the child "had an ashen skin tone, his jaw was clenched and his lips were blue," according to the complaint.

Early next morning, police found Tietsort at a local hotel, and she admitted the infant had died the night before while she was watching him and his brother. She denied killing the baby.

At a bond hearing Friday, a forensic pathologist testified that the infant suffered three blunt force injuries to the head, all of which occured around the time of his death. Additionally, the baby's tailbone was "fractured, broken off and displaced, indicating a significant amount of force was used," the forensic pathologist said, according to the Wausau Daily Herald.

Despite knowing the infant had died in her home, Tietsort allegedly went about her night like nothing was wrong. She said nothing about the dead baby when her boyfriend returned home in the evening. The couple then went to eat at McDonald's, bringing their son, the older boy and his dead younger brother with them.

Tietsort has five children and is pregnant with a sixth. Before her October arrest, child and family services had removed four of the children from her custody, but were not aware she had given birth to a fifth child.

Tietsort's earlier child abuse charges stem from an Aug. 2 incident in which the parents of an 11-month old girl accused her of abusing their daughter while babysittng, WSAW7 News reported. Tietsort told the parents the girl had hurt herself falling off a couch, but doctors later said the girl's injuries were not consistent with a fall from that height, according to court documents.