Nicole Diggs, 32, is accused of negligence in connection with the death of her disabled daughter Alayah-Rose Savarese, 8, who died from a ruptured stomach in 2012 in her mother’s Yonkers, New York home. Diggs and then-boyfriend, now-husband, Oscar Thomas were arrested in suspicion of deliberately withholding food from Alayah who suffered from cerebral palsy and charged with negligent homicide and child endangerment. They each faced a maximum sentence of four years in prison.
Alayah could not speak, walk or feed herself due to complications at birth. She was the beneficiary of a $2 million trust fund which was the result of a settlement with Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca, New York. Her umbilical cord was severed during birth and she was deprived of oxygen. Diggs, a special education teacher, didn’t want her daughter institutionalized. Thomas, her then-boyfriend now-husband was a stay-at-home caretaker. The day of Alayah’s passing, she was home with one of Thomas’ friends.
Westchester County prosecutors accuse Diggs of:
- Not providing Alayah with required daily food;
- Not seeking necessary medical treatment for Alayah;
- Leaving Alayah often unattended;
- Keeping her from physical and occupational therapy as a result of being frequently being kept home from school; and
- Failing to maintain her hygiene resulting in her having smelly hair and dirty clothing; a foul odor and bleeding gums.
Oscar Thomas
Prosecutors also alleged Alayah suffered lacerations and welts from neglect. The state Office of Children and Family Services provided a report with comments that Alayah had once been so dirty that school staff took it upon themselves to wash her. At one point, “the water was so black from the dirt,” according to media.
The medical examiner says her death was the result of her condition and a seizure.
Diggs and Thomas married three weeks after Alayah’s passing. She is in line to receive $1 million of the trust fund and her biological father, Anthony Savarese, is in line to receive the other half. Diggs will inherit the money because she isn’t accused of intentionally causing Alayah’s death.
