Daycare provider charged after child's suffocation death

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Authorities say a Lafayette woman faces charges after a 1-year-old child suffocated in a broken crib at the unlicensed daycare she operated out of her home.

Prosecutors charges Debra A. Keyes on Thursday with a felony count of reckless supervision by a child care provider and a misdemeanor charge of operating a child care home without a license.

The child was found unresponsive April 25 at her home and pronounced dead at a hospital.

Tippecanoe County Coroner Donna Avolt said the cause of death was mechanical asphyxia, defined as an external object that blocks airflow. Keyes told investigators a crib used for the child's nap was broken.

Police say they found 13 children present at her home without additional adult supervision.

Online court records didn't show an attorney for Avolt.