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Child abuse trial, teacher guilty on 4 of 5 counts
A Waukesha County jury found Heather Miller, a former teacher at The Lawrence School, guilty on four of five counts in a child abuse case from 2022.
WAUKESHA, Wis. - A Waukesha County jury found Heather Miller, a former teacher at The Lawrence School, guilty on four of five counts in a child abuse case that dates back to 2022.
Jury's verdict
In Court:
Prosecutors charged Miller, 51, with four counts of child abuse and one count of second-degree recklessly endangering safety after they said she hurt multiple children when she worked at the Waukesha day care center.
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The jury of four women and eight men deliberated for just over four hours before they delivered their verdict, convicting Miller on three of the four child abuse counts, as well as second-degree recklessly endangering safety.
Miller was found not guilty on one of the child abuse counts, which was for a boy who prosecutors said Miller slammed to the ground. She was found guilty of hurting the same boy on a separate count.
Heather Miller
What they're saying:
Prosecutors outlined four incidents involving three children, some of whom had special needs, that took place between November 2021 and August 2022.
"The person who was supposed to care for them was abusing them," said Prosecutor Nikole Kane.
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During the trial, the jury was shown photos of an infant with red marks on her face. Prosecutors said it represented broken blood vessels that indicated "severe suffocation."
In another incident, prosecutors said Miller threw a child "across the room." Pablo Galaviz, Miller's defense attorney, said "it never happened." He argued eyewitness accounts could not be trusted because rooms were dark and the witnesses were far away.
At one point, Galaviz compared the three children to dogs. He said if the children were abused, they wouldn't have wanted to go to day care again.
Lawrence School child abuse trial day 3; teacher testifies in her own defense
Heather Miller, accused of abusing multiple children at The Lawrence School, testified in her own defense before the trial moved toward closing arguments on Thursday, Sept. 25.
"The only thing that's true in this case is she is one of the best day care workers that's ever worked at a day care facility," he said.
Records show Miller resigned from The Lawrence School following an unannounced visit from state inspectors. When she testified on Thursday, she said she could not remember details.
"Is that believable, that she has no recollection?" said Kane. "That's something that would just fall out of your memory?"
Child abuse investigation
The backstory:
Three years ago, Waukesha police conducted a search at The Lawrence School. It came after parents took their child to Children's Wisconsin. They said the child was "lethargic, fussy and unwell" after day care. Police said Miller set up mattresses to "lock cameras" and slammed a 1-year-old boy "face down into a crib."
Prosecutors said the child's "body bounced up and down" and Miller "held him down so hard" the child "struggled to breathe." Prosecutors also said Miller slammed another child's head into a Pack ‘n Play and tossed another child several feet, causing the child’s face to hit the floor.
The Lawrence School, Waukesha
In total, investigators said there were three victims, some of whom had special needs.
The Lawrence School has since shut down. Waukesha police said it was operating at over 150% of its state-regulated capacity.
Dig deeper:
Two other workers were charged with child abuse-fail or prevent bodily harm. Kathryn Asher and Annemarie Fraker are listed as potential witnesses in Miller's trial. Both are scheduled for plea/sentencing hearings in October.
The Source: FOX6 News was in court throughout the trial and referenced information from the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court for this story.