A judge sentenced a North Dakota woman Tuesday to about 19 years in prison in connection with the death of a baby and injury of another boy that authorities tied to her unlicensed home child care center.
Patricia Wick, of Jamestown, was charged last year. She pleaded guilty in January to felony charges of murder and child abuse and a misdemeanor of operating an unlicensed day care center in Carrington.
On the murder charge, state District Judge James Hovey sentenced Wick to 40 years in prison, with 20 years suspended and credit for over a year already served. She must register as an offender against children and serve 10 years' supervised probation. The judge also imposed lesser, concurrent sentences on the other charges. Wick must also pay $810 in court fees on the child abuse charge.
Wick's public defender, Samuel Gereszek, and Foster County State's Attorney Kara Brinster did not immediately return phone messages left Wednesday.
Authorities have accused Wick of causing head and neck injuries to a 5-month-old boy, as stated in Carrington Police Chief Christopher Bittmann's affidavit. The incident took place on Sept. 26, 2022, when police officers and EMTs responded to Wick's in-home day care following a report of an unresponsive infant. The baby was airlifted to a Fargo hospital but unfortunately did not survive the injuries.
An autopsy revealed that the infant's cause of death was "complications of blunt force head and neck trauma," leading to the determination of homicide, according to the affidavit. Wick admitted to authorities that she may have handled the baby too roughly, expressing frustration with him on that particular day.
Later, Wick mentioned hearing the baby coughing and witnessing him vomit. She promptly contacted the child's mother and dialed 911. A GoFundMe campaign organized for the baby's family managed to raise over $20,000 in support.
