Doctor testifies Delmont child was victim of ongoing abuse, torture

Five-year-old Landon Maloberti suffered bruises over most of his body and massive brain bleeding and was the victim of torture at the hands of his adoptive mother and her husband, according to testimony Tuesday by a physician and child advocate.

Dr. Michelle Clayton testified during a preliminary hearing for Lauren Maloberti, 34, and Jacob Maloberti, 33, both of Delmont, that the child’s dozens of injuries were related to child abuse and caused his death in early February.

“Landon was subjected to torture,” Clayton testified. “This was ongoing physical abuse, emotional abuse and psychological abuse.”

Following five hours of testimony at the Westmoreland County Courthouse, District Judge Charles Conway ordered Lauren and Jacob Maloberti held for trial.

Lauren Maloberti, who according to police adopted Landon in 2019 two years before she married Jacob, her second husband, is charged with first-degree murder, criminal homicide, child endangerment, conspiracy and two counts of aggravated assault.

Jacob Maloberti, a corrections officer at the state prison in Fayette County, is charged with criminal homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, child endangerment and conspiracy.

The child was declared brain dead Feb. 5, Clayton testified.

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She testified doctors diagnosed the child with dozens bruises located on the child’s head, face, arms, legs, back and abdomen, multiple lacerations and massive brain bleeding and swelling.

“The multitude of injuries could not be explained by his falling. There was an application of violent forces to his head,” Clayton testified. “He was subjected to emotion abuse and a neglect of his mental health needs.”

Prosecutors argued the Malobertis inflicted fatal injuries to the child and delayed getting him medical attention until they finally drove the boy to a hospital in Hempfield on Jan. 30. Doctors found him in critical condition and ordered he be immediately flown to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

“Lauren had exclusive custody of Landon when he was injured,” said Assistant District Attorney Judi Petrush. “There is no accidental explanation offered to explain his massive head trauma. Mr. Maloberti came home in the afternoon and observed the child, put him in a shower and tried to feed him while Landon was covered with bruises all over his body.”

The Malobertis sat between their lawyers during the hearing and occasionally talked to each other during breaks.

Defense attorney Adam Gorzelsky argued that prosecutors could not directly link the child’s injuries to his parent’s actions.

“There’s an absence of explanation as to how these injuries occurred,” Gorzelsky said.

Assistant Public Defender David Mulock, defending Jacob Maloberti, argued the case against the parents should be dismissed for lack of evidence.

“They are suggesting these injuries were caused by abuse and torture because the injuries did not happen another way,” Mulock said. “That’s an tenuous inference.”

Prosecutors contend Lauren Maloberti, a server at a local brew pub, was home alone with Landon and her three biological children, her husband’s biological son from a previous marriage and a foster child the day he suffered the fatal injuries.

Investigators contend Lauren Maloberti claimed Landon fell in the home early Sunday morning on Jan. 29, but was uninjured and acted normally throughout that day and into Monday.

Westmoreland County Detective Jenna Derco testified Lauren and Jacob Maloberti gave conflicting stories to police about Landon’s behavior and health issues over the course of a day that led up to his hospitalization.

They suggested some injuries were self-inflicted while others were a result of constant falling over the prior month after he recovered from covid-19.

Derco said the couple’s other children, who were not injured, told investigators their parents ignored Landon, that he was mistreated, his health issues were ignored by their parents and was isolated from others.

One of the children told investigators that Landon was smacked by his mother, sprayed with a water bottle, drank from a toilet, disciplined more than the other kids and had his movements monitored by a camera.

Derco testified police spotted a web-based camera perched on a wall in the home during an initial investigation on Jan. 31. And when investigators returned days later with a search warrant found the device was detached and in a garbage can. Video recorded from the camera was never found, she said.

Conway ordered the Malobertis held without bail. They are schedule to next appear in court for an arraignment hearing on Oct. 18.