Police: Parents arrested, charged with negligent homicide after toddler found dead in Sullivan County motel
The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office confirms Lisa Keitt and Jimmie Luvert were allegedly responsible for the toddler's death.
The parents of a 16-month-old girl found dead in a Sullivan County motel were arrested for their alleged role in her death, according to the Village of Liberty Police Department.
Lisa Keitt, 26, and 41-year-old Jimmie Luvert are both being charged with criminally negligent homicide and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Village police responded to a 911 call for a child in cardiac arrest at the Knights Inn Motel on State Route 52 in Liberty at around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Officials say they found the toddler unresponsive in the lobby and attempted to save her life with CPR before rushing her to Garnet Medical Center - Catskills, where she died.
Investigators have not revealed the cause of the child’s death or if any other children were present at the time of the incident.
The Knight Inn Motel has been the subject of previous criminal investigations as recently as last month.
On Sunday April 23, village police executed a search warrant inside one of the rooms as part of narcotics investigation. Detectives arrested a man after finding over 100 grams of fentanyl and crack cocaine as well as items used to package and distribute the drugs during the investigation.
The Sullivan County Welfare Fraud Task Force previously arrested Keitt in an unrelated case just under two months ago on March 19.
She was charged with theft of services and offering a false instrument for stealing $500 in Medicaid transportation benefits.
Keitt is being held in Sullivan County Jail on $500,000, and Luvert was not given bail because he is a repeat offender, according to the sheriff's office.
