Mom Sues Etsy Over Necklace That Killed Her Infant Son
It's heartbreaking.
Getty Images When you drop your kid off at daycare for the first time, it isn't easy. Maybe they're going through a difficult period for separation, heck, maybe it's just difficult for you to be apart from them all day long. Whatever the reason, we all try and take comfort in the fact that the people we've hired to take care of our children while we work are going to keep them happy and safe. That's why stories about tragic accidents at daycare facilities are so terrifying in addition to being utterly heartbreaking.
When Danielle Morin dropped her infant son off at daycare back in 2016, she expected to see him later that day. Instead, she was met with his corpse. Here's the story of what happened to her little boy and what she's doing to make sure what happened to him doesn't happen to any other children.
Who is Danielle Morin?
A grieving mother from California is turning to the law for help after the tragic death of her 18-month-old son.
Her little boy, Deacon Morin, died after being strangled to death in his sleep by a teething necklace sold on the popular crafting shopping site, Etsy. Her son died in 2016, but Danielle is pressing forward and is suing Etsy for his wrongful death. It makes sense, too.
After losing a child so senselessly she wants to save other parents from her ordeal by publicizing what happened to her little boy. Danielle says that the necklace her son was wearing when he died was a gift purchased for him on Etsy. The popular amber teething beads were being sold by a Lithuanian company, and Danielle believed the necklace, designed for children, was perfectly safe.
What happened to Deacon is in many respects a parents' worst nightmare.
Danielle left her son in the care of a daycare she trusted. When naptime was over and attendants went to wake Deacon, they found he was unresponsive. He was taken to the hospital and eventually taken off of life support.
According to the details of the case, Danielle and her lawyer are alleging that during the course of his nap, the amber teething bead necklace tightened severely around her little boy's throat, constricting his airway and making breathing impossible. To make things even grimmer, the necklace came with a screw-release clasp that would not come unfascinated as they scrambled to help.
Etsy makes its legal policies fairly clear if you go to their website and read them over.
They state the items sold on their site are being provided by independent sellers. As such, Etsy is not responsible for their "safety, quality, or legality". They say that if you want to take legal action, you should do so with the seller, not the site. Danielle is suing both the seller and the site.
Danielle is well-versed in what Etsy's policy is, but that didn't make her change her mind. When you consider the way that she sees things, it makes sense. Danielle never "agreed" to Etsy's legal disclaimer because she was not the person who bought the necklace, a friend did.
As such, it doesn't apply to her. “It scares me for other parents…I want parents to know there is no more Toys ‘R’ Us and people need to go online to buy products and these products are dangerous products,” she said.
Daniell hired lawyer John Carpenter to represent her case.
Working with a lawyer this way might seem odd, but when you consider the potential impact the continued sales of items like this could have on the entire planet, it makes sense that she would want someone experienced with the law to help not just win her case but to speak for her in public, too.
“Baby necklaces, if you use a baby necklace should have a releasing safety clasp so if there’s any pulling on it, it releases. This one that was purchased on Etsy had a screw-on clasp that could not be released. And so when baby Deacon was hung up on something, it didn’t release and caused him to suffocate,” Danielle’s attorney, John Carpenter, explained.
While this suit with Etsy and the independent seller are making waves now, this isn't the first legal action that's taken place in this case.
In December of 2017 two of the employees at the daycare facility, Sagan Marriott and Debrah Jimenez, where Deacon died were arrested. The two employees were charged with child cruelty with possible death and/or injury and involuntary manslaughter.
In addition to those arrests, another staff member, Rebecca Lutz, was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment. As they were trying to piece together what happened on the day of Deacon's death, authorities learned that Sagan and Rebecca didn't immediately call 911. Instead, they called Debrah, who was their manager.
Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York with her cats, Batman and Margot. She's an experienced generalist with a passion for lifestyle, geek news, pop culture, and true crime. For more of her work, check out her Tumblr.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on May 11, 2019 and was updated with the latest information.