A Superior Court has sentenced a New Castle woman to life in prison for the repeated abuse and murder of a child, and the abuse of four other children in her care at a daycare facility where she was employed.
Dejoynay Ferguson pleaded guilty in April to Murder by Abuse First Degree, 6 counts of Child Abuse First Degree, and 2 counts of Child Abuse Second Degree.
“These are the crimes that make us hold our kids tighter,” said Attorney General Kathy Jennings. “This was among the most chilling and emotionally challenging cases that the DOJ has prosecuted in my career. Today we have held the perpetrator of these heinous crimes accountable and closed this chapter of a horrific and senseless tragedy. Dejoynay Ferguson will be in prison for the rest of her life. But I know that the road ahead is still long for the survivors and the victims’ families, who have suffered unfathomable anguish. All of us continue to hold them in our hearts.”
The investigation into Ferguson’s crimes was led by Delaware State Police’s Homicide Unit with support from the Department of Justice. Deputy Attorneys General James Kriner and Diana Dunn of the DOJ’s Special Victims Unit led Ferguson’s prosecution and secured her conviction.
Original Story
On Friday officials announced that the indictment handed down Monday against Dejoynay Ferguson includes over fifty felonies.
A New Castle County grand jury has indicted a New Castle woman for 53 felonies following the alleged murder of an infant and the abuse of four other children at a Bear daycare facility.
Dejoynay Ferguson, 20, is alleged to have suffocated a 4-month-old child to death and to have abused that child and four other children between July 16 and September 5, 2019. Following a thorough investigation by the Delaware State Police Homicide Unit, prosecutors sought and secured an indictment against Ferguson for 1 count of Murder by Abuse or Neglect First Degree, 48 counts of Child Abuse First Degree, and 4 counts of Child Abuse Second Degree.
The indictment handed down on July 13 was a culmination of the investigative efforts by both the Delaware State Police and the Department of Justice, and was delayed several months due to the suspension of grand juries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The matter will be referred to a Superior Court judge for scheduling.
Monday’s announcement:
Bear– On Monday, July 13, 2020, 20-year-old Dejoynay Ferguson of New Castle was Indicted by a New Castle County Grand Jury in the New Castle County Court House, Wilmington, with updated charges.
On Thursday, September 5, 2019, at approximately 10:35 a.m., Troopers and Emergency Medical Services personnel responded to the Little People Child Development Center, located at 3843 Wrangle Hill Road, for an unresponsive 4-month-old. The female infant was transported by ambulance to Christiana Hospital, where she was pronounced deceased.
The investigation, conducted by the Delaware State Police Homicide Unit, determined Ferguson was the assigned caregiver for the female victim in the Infant Room at the facility, placed her hands over the victim’s mouth and nose, and intentionally restricted her breathing until she became unresponsive, Troopers said Monday. Once becoming unresponsive, the victim was put back into a crib by Ferguson. After approximately 20 minutes, Ferguson advised the owner of the daycare facility the victim was unresponsive, at which time 911 was called.
Included in the Indictment today was a single count of Murder by Abuse or Neglect, which replaced the original charge of Murder 1st Degree and forty-two counts of Child Abuse 1st Degree against the deceased victim. The time frame of the child abuse charges included in the presented Indictment ranged from July 16, 2019, thru September 5, 2019.
After the initial incident, the Delaware State Police Homicide Unit, identified four additional child victims, ranging in age from one month through fifteen months of age. Seven additional counts of Child Abuse 1st Degree and three counts of Child Abuse 2nd are associated with the four additional identified victims.
Dejoynay Ferguson remains in the custody of Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution.
