Why "just put it up for adoption" isn't better than abortion

Quote

A 5-year-old Delmont boy who liked to sing country music and play with monster trucks died a torturous death at the hands of his adoptive parents, authorities said Friday.

Lauren E. Maloberti, 34, and Jacob N. Maloberti, 33, of Delmont are being held without bail on homicide charges in the Westmoreland County jail after being arraigned Friday morning. Their adoptive son, Landon Maloberti, died Feb. 7 at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, police said.

Delmont police began investigating abuse allegations involving Landon on Jan. 30, after county emergency officials were contacted by a nurse from Allegheny Health Network’s Hempfield facility. Medical personnel said Landon arrived with three separate brain bleeds along with “significant, severe, life-threatening injuries consistent with child abuse,” according to a criminal complaint.

Police said Lauren Maloberti gave several inconsistent accounts to AHN staff about how Landon was injured, including accidental falls and “throwing himself around because of his behavioral issues,” according to court documents.

Maloberti told medical staff that Landon had fallen Jan. 29, according to a criminal complaint. The next day, she noticed Landon was vomiting and not feeling well, and she then took him to the AHN Hempfield facility.

After arriving at AHN, Landon was assessed and immediately transferred to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, police said. Dr. Michelle Clayton, chief of Children’s Child Advocacy Center, reviewed Landon’s medical records and wrote that his brain was “obliterated,” he had sustained damage to his entire body and his injuries were not self-inflicted. Clayton said Lauren Maloberti’s decision to wait until the following day to seek medical attention likely contributed to the boy’s death.

“Tragically, Landon suffered abuse and trauma over the span of his short life,” said Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli in a statement Friday.

Ziccarelli pointed to allegations in the criminal complaint against the Malobertis that detailed multiple episodes of physical abuse in combination with emotional maltreatment of the child that led to his inability to sleep, stand, eat or drink and caused him to lose consciousness. She also noted that according to the autopsy report, the child had blunt force trauma to his torso and extremities.

Clayton told police Landon’s presentation “is diagnostic of torture,” and said Lauren Maloberti’s various reasons for her son’s injuries did not make sense based on the medical evidence.

Investigators spoke with the Malobertis and their other children, and police said they identified multiple inconsistencies between the children’s and Lauren Maloberti’s versions of events. Jacob Maloberti’s version of events also did not match what his wife told investigators, according to a criminal complaint.

During child advocacy forensic interviews of three of Landon’s siblings, the children said that while they are disciplined verbally and by losing privileges, Landon was the only sibling to be disciplined physically. They said their parents had spanked Landon with her hands as well as a wooden spoon, and kept a spray bottle which they would occasionally use to spray the 5-year-old.

Police also spoke with Landon’s biological maternal grandmother, Kathie Jo Sheffler, who said that up until April 2022, she was able to visit with him once or twice a week and never noticed any signs of physical abuse. After that time, Sheffler told police that Lauren Maloberti no longer permitted her to see Landon, according to court documents.

Forensic investigation of the Maloberti’s cellphones revealed text messages where both Lauren and Jacob repeatedly would express their disdain toward Landon, police said. In addition, co-workers of Lauren’s said she complained about Landon often and had used the word “hate” to describe how she felt about the child.

The Malobertis are charged with homicide, child endangerment, aggravated assault and conspiracy. Lauren Maloberti additionally was charged with first-degree murder.

Delmont police Chief T.J. Klobucar said he was shocked by the severity of Landon’s injuries.

“In the 25 years I have been working for the Delmont Police Department, we have never faced an incident like this,” Klobucar said.

The Malobertis created an online fundraiser Feb. 1 seeking financial support after “our precious baby boy went unresponsive,” according to information on a GoFundMe page.

“The outcome is not looking good … we need to prepare for the most unimaginable outcome … our baby boy’s funeral,” the post reads. “I don’t have much else to say as my heart is breaking in a million pieces right now.”

About $5,200 was raised. It was unclear what happened to the donations.

The Malobertis are scheduled for preliminary hearings Aug. 8. An attorney for the couple was not listed in court documents.