A jury in Hawaii has found a Navy wife guilty of manslaughter in connection with the overdose death of a 7-month-old baby in military housing, according to local news reports.

Dixie Denise Villa is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 26, according to a report from Hawaii News Now. Abigail Lobisch was found dead Feb. 24, 2019, in Villa’s house at Aliamanu Military Reservation in Hawaii, where Villa was babysitting her.

An overdose of antihistamine was determined to be the cause of Abigail Lobisch’s death, according to court documents.

The trial, which began Nov. 4, was held in Hawaii’s civilian court system.

In September 2019, in the wake of the baby’s death, the Defense Department’s personnel chief called for officials to investigate reports of unauthorized daycare operations on installations. James Stewart, then-acting under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said officials should take appropriate steps to shut down these unauthorized operations.

Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book “A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families.” She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.

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