In a tragic incident, a three-year-old girl passed away after being severely infested with lice, leading to anemia. The young child, Joycelynn Dylewski, was discovered struggling to breathe in a residence in Corinth, upstate New York, in February 2025. Reports indicate that the lice infestation had caused severe anemia, damaging her vital organs, including her heart. Despite being rushed to a hospital from her unhygienic home near Albany, she could not be saved.
Medical examinations revealed the presence of clonidine, a blood pressure medication, in her system, suggesting potential sedation effects. Subsequent investigations revealed evidence of acute and chronic neglect by her parents, Matthew and Samantha Dylewski, ultimately leading to Joycelynn’s death. Both parents have confessed to criminally negligent homicide in connection to the tragic incident.
Samantha, the mother, callously blamed her own daughter for her demise, claiming the child resisted lice treatment efforts. Furthermore, she attempted to shift blame for the clonidine ingestion onto her son, but investigations unearthed incriminating text messages between Samantha and Matthew discussing the drug administration to Joycelynn. The court also noted the presence of insects, including a dead cockroach, on the child’s body.
Samantha’s sentencing revealed the horrendous conditions the children endured, with rotten teeth, insects, flies, and filth in the apartment. The judge condemned the couple’s actions, emphasizing the prolonged suffering Joycelynn endured due to their neglect. Both parents received up to four years in state prison and a restraining order from their surviving children until 2038.
In response to this appalling neglect, legislators are proposing “Joycelynn’s Law,” which seeks to extend the maximum sentence for criminally negligent homicide to 20 years. This initiative aims to ensure that individuals like Samantha and Matthew face harsher penalties for such egregious acts of neglect and abuse.