Grandmother charged in infant’s death days after arrest of child’s mother

The grandmother of a 6-weekold baby who died last week in Griswold also has been arrested and charged in connection with the infant’s death, just two days after the child’s mother was charged.

State troopers arrested Linda S. Kennison, 58, on Wednesday and charged her with risk of injury to a child for her alleged role in the death of her youngest grandchild, state police said.

Kennison’s daughter and the child’s mother Crystal Czyzewski, 35, admitted to police that she covered her baby’s face with a blanket for about 20 minutes on Nov. 17 when the baby and her other child’s cries overwhelmed her, police records show.

Czyzewski then left the baby, who was no longer breathing, in an indoor swing for the rest of the day while she went out with a friend and only later dialed 911 to report her baby was “barely breathing” and breathing “very lightly,” according to the warrant affidavit for Czyzewski’s arrest.

The baby was treated at Connecticut Children’s in Hartford and ultimately died on Sunday, police said. The center’s Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect team found no signs of abuse on the child, but Department of Children and Families records showed the baby appeared to have been resuscitated but was not breathing on its own, according to court records.

Czyzewski was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree manslaughter and risk of injury to a minor. She told police her mother had known the baby was not breathing and agreed to lie because Czyzewski feared losing custody of her 5-year-old, but Kennison told police she had not known her daughter had harmed the child, records show.

Both women remained in custody on Thursday, Czyzewski in lieu of a $500,000 bond and Kennison in lieu of a $250,000 bond.