A Clairton woman who spent an hour Googling how to revive the toddler she strangled last year pleaded guilty to third-degree murder Tuesday in exchange for a maximum of 40 years in prison, according to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office.
Deasha Ringgold, 21, was charged in August for the April 2018 death of her boyfriend’s 22-month-old daughter, Aubree.
Ringgold was left caring for the toddler April 27, 2018, in the Clairton apartment she shared with her boyfriend and her brother, Jayvon Williamson. Williamson told police at the time that he left for work shortly before 9:30 a.m. and returned home about 4 p.m., according to a criminal complaint.
Williamson told police that minutes after he returned home, his sister rushed downstairs with Aubree, saying the child was not breathing, according to the complaint. They drove the child to Jefferson Hospital, where she was taken by helicopter to UPMC Children’s Hospital. She was pronounced dead about 10:30 p.m.
Ringgold told police she awoke from a nap about 3 p.m. when her boyfriend, Aubree’s father, called her, according to the complaint. She said that’s when she noticed the child had stopped breathing and was turning blue. She said immediately ran downstairs, found her brother and they took Aubree to the hospital.
A search of Ringgold’s cellphone, however, showed she began Googling CPR instructions at 2:57 p.m., and the pair arrived at the hospital with Aubree at 4:04 p.m., police said.
Among her queries were: “she’s not breathing what to do,” “What to do when someone is choked out,” and “how to do CPR on a baby,” according to the complaint.
The medical examiner ruled Aubree’s death a homicide, indicating she’d been strangled.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to the sentence of 20 to 40 years and to withdraw one charge of child endangerment.
