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Adoptive PA mother, husband charged with criminal homicide in death of boy, 5, with ‘obliterated’ brain

July 31, 2023 | | Print Article

The adoptive mother of a 5-year-old boy and her husband were arrested in Pennsylvania and charged with criminal homicide for the child’s February 7 death after doctors revealed the little boy showed signs of “severe child abuse” that left him unable to stand, eat, or drink.

Little Landon Maloberti’s brain was “obliterated,” according to a doctor at UPMC Children’s Hospital, after he suffered three brain bleeds from what they contend was horrific abuse at the hands of his adoptive parents.

At a press conference to announce the charges, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli told reporters, “Landon had blunt force trauma to his head and neck, blunt force trauma to his torso, and blunt force trauma to his extremities.”

(Video: YouTube)

Lauren Maloberti and her husband, Jacob, a Fayette State Correctional Center corrections officer, caused the severe injuries to Landon and then waited a full day before finally taking him to the hospital on January 30, according to the criminal complaint.

“The hospital staff told police Lauren showed no urgency when they arrived, and said Lauren told them Landon was ‘wobbly from COVID a month prior,'” WPXI reports.

Landon’s little body was covered with multiple bruises. The child was unable to breathe on his own and was suffering from rotational head trauma consistent with severe child abuse, according to police.

He died about a week later.

Landon’s siblings later told police that Landon was the only child their mother spanked because “he does not learn his lesson.”

Lauren would use her open hand, a wooden spoon, or a spray bottle to hit Landon, the siblings said. Their mom “gets more angry” and sends them upstairs where they could hear the boy cry when she spanked him, they told officers.

Lauren’s former coworkers told police that she “hated” little Landon and that he was “hard to love.”

In April 2022, Landon’s maternal grandmother — a relative of Lauren — said Lauren told her that Landon “was bad” and, after that, refused to let his grandma see him, according to police.

Lauren appeared upset that Landon would tell his grandmother that he loved her but would say it to his adoptive mother, Landon’s grandmother told the police.

Landon’s body showed signs of trauma from “multiple episodes of physical abuse,” according to doctors, the New York Post reports.

“His injuries caused substantial pain at the time they were inflicted, with impairment of function including inability to stand, inability to eat or drink and loss of consciousness,” the complaint states.

“There’s no question when you see a child so young go through so much, whether you’re a parent or not, you can really sympathize with what he must have experienced,” Ziccarelli said.

In a move that, if the allegations against the Malobertis prove true, can only be described as monstrous, Lauren and Jacob set up a now-defunct GoFundMe after Landon’s death.

They referred to the child as their “precious baby boy” and claimed, “tragedy struck our family.”

Lauren and Jacob Maloberti are due in court on August 8.

Melissa Fine
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