WATERTOWN, SD (KVOA) – In June, a family from Marana decided to brave the Arizona heat and travel to South Dakota to be with family and friends. However, this trip quickly turned into a nightmare.
Parents expect their children to be safe when they leave daycare, but that wasn’t the case with the Koistinen, said their toddler, Liam, died after severe trauma.
“Something you never expect to drop off in the morning, it was the last time we saw it. We never thought that would happen,” said Jeff Koistinen, Liam’s father.
While on vacation in South Dakota, Marana residents Jeff and Genevieve Koistinen received a call from their child’s caregiver that she could not wake their son Liam from his nap.
Liam’s father said he immediately told the sitter to call 911.
“We only saw our son lying on the floor in the living room,” said Koistinen. “He looked pretty normal.”
But the situation was not good. Liam’s injuries were so severe that he had to be flown to a Sioux Falls hospital 160 kilometers away.
“They did some tests and a CAT scan and found that he had a brain haemorrhage,” Koistinen said.
After meeting the police at the hospital, the couple say they were then contacted by child protection services.
“We have taken Liam into custody and informed the hospital that you cannot be alone with him,” said Koistinen. “We couldn’t believe it.”
According to the News 4 Tucson police report, the babysitter identified as Amanda Walder admitted that Liam may have hit his head on the bed frame when she laid him down. She said that injury could have resulted in internal injury.
CPS later confirmed that the case against his parents had been closed and the childcare worker had been taken into custody.
Liam died of his injuries and was buried in South Dakota.
“It will be tough, but we just need our friends close to us to help us survive this tragedy that is pointless for us,” said Koistinen.
As of this release, Walder is on loan. She was ordered not to have contact with minors or unsupervised visits to children.
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