The parents of a Corinth toddler have been arrested and charged with criminally negligent homicide following reports of the endangerment of the welfare of the child.
The suspects were identified as 32-year-old Samantha Dylewski and 33-year-old Matthew Dylewski, from Glens Falls. The couple previously faced five counts of endangering the welfare of a child and four counts of second-degree criminal contempt.
Parents of Toddler Charged With Criminally Negligent Homicide
Authorities said they are accusing the parents of acting "in a manner likely to be injurious to the physical, mental, or moral welfare" of five children under the age of 17 years. Additionally, they are alleged to have violated an order of protection.
The couple's arrest comes after the death of a three-year-old toddler on Feb. 19, 2025, after emergency services responded to a call on Main Street. They answered reports of a child who was supposedly having trouble breathing.
After they arrived at the scene, officials reportedly transferred the child to Saratoga Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. At the time of the incident, four other children were found inside the couple's home, according to News10ABC.
Authorities ruled the toddler's cause of death a homicide due to complications of "acute and chronic neglect." After that, both of the suspects were charged with criminally negligent homicide.
The parents of the toddler were arraigned and released to pretrial services and are scheduled to appear in court on May 13, 2025. If the suspects are convicted of the charges against them, they face a sentence of one and a third to four years in prison.
The toddler in the case was identified as Joycelynn Ann Dylewski, who is being remembered as a child who "loved to sing and dance. Other people also said that she enjoyed being with her mom and dad, CBS6 Albany reported.
Violating a Court's Orders
After the couple's initial arrest, a court order was issued, which barred the parents from contacting their child while they were waiting for trial. However, they supposedly violated that order and were handed additional charges for going against the court's orders.
Saratoga County undersheriff Jeffrey Brown said that when deputies responded to the original call, they found the home to be in "extreme unsanitary conditions." He added that the female suspect was the biological mother of all five children. Additionally, the two youngest kids were fathered by the male suspect.
After the couple's earlier arraignment, the mother said that she and her partner had "not done anything" to harm their child. On the other hand, a relative who accompanied the two to court said that Child Protective Services had been aware of several issues in the household for years before the incident, as per the Times Union.
