Several parents of the toddlers and babies testified they had no idea Debbie Lundstrom had so many children at her in-home daycare in 2022.
Parents with children who were in Debbie Lundstrom’s unlicensed child care operation on March 2, 2022 — the day nine children were left unattended and one baby was strangled by his car seat strap — testified Feb. 29 they had no idea Lundstrom was caring for so many kids.
They said Lundstrom’s policy was for children to be handed off at the door, over the baby gate. Usually, children were in their car seats at the time they were handed over to Lundstrom. Parents were not allowed inside as a “COVID protocol,” said Rachel Shirley, mother of 8-month-old Coleman Shirley, the child who died.
Asked if she knew how many children Lundstrom was caring for, Rachel Shirley said no.
“I was under the impression that it was minimal,” Rachel Shirley said on the witness stand in a Springfield courtroom.
Through tears, Rachel Shirley recalled trying to explain to Coleman’s big brother, Jackson, why they were leaving a hospital that day without Coleman. She recalled the moment her husband told Jackson that Coleman died.
“The cry or scream or however you describe it is probably forever burned in our brains,” Rachel Shirley said.
Following two days of testimony in Greene County Circuit Judge Todd Myers’ courtroom, a jury found 49-year-old Lundstrom guilty of first-degree involuntary manslaughter, first-degree endangering the welfare of a child — death of a child; eight counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child creating substantial risk; and one charge of operating a child-care facility without a license.
In the penalty phase of the trial Feb. 29, the jury recommended the judge sentence Lundstrom to 20 years in prison for first-degree endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death; seven years for first-degree involuntary manslaughter; four years for each count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child creating a substantial risk; and 15 days in jail for operating a child-care facility without a license.
Myers will consider the jury's recommendation and formally sentence Lundstrom in May. The judge will announce then if the sentences are to run concurrently or consecutively.
Lundstrom chose to wear jail jumpsuit
After two hours of deliberation, the six-man and six-woman jury returned its guilty verdicts around 5:30 p.m. Feb. 28. At that time, Greene County prosecutors asked Judge Myers to revoke Lundstrom’s bond. The judge granted that request and Lundstrom spent the night before the sentencing hearing in the Greene County Jail.
Lundstrom appeared in court Feb. 29 wearing a jail-issued jumpsuit. At the very start of the hearing, and before the jury entered, Judge Myers explained to Lundstrom she has the right to wear her own street clothes.
Lundstrom told the judge she chose to wear the jumpsuit.
Though Lundstrom did not testify during her trial, she chose to speak during the penalty phase.
“I am sorry. I made a bad choice that day,” Lundstrom said. “If I could do it over again, I would make sure my daughter was actually sitting in the room.”
Throughout the trial, Lundstrom’s attorneys repeatedly said Lundstrom’s 18-year-old daughter was either at the house or Lundstrom believed her daughter was at the house on March 2, 2022 — despite evidence and testimony to the contrary.
What caused the death of Coleman Shirley?
Lundstrom had nine children under the age of 3 in her care on March 2, 2022, when she strapped most of them into car seats and left some of the older toddlers unrestrained while she left the home for 12 minutes.
Within about 10 minutes of Lundstrom returning to the house, the babysitter found 8-month-old Coleman Shirley unresponsive.
According to evidence presented at the trial, Lundstrom first dialed “9-1” and then called her 18-year-old daughter instead. Lundstrom then tried to contact Coleman Shirley’s mother, and then called “9-1-1.”
Lundstrom first told Springfield police that she brought all nine children to her son’s school in a van. She later changed her story, saying she brought all nine children to her son’s school in her Toyota Camry, with some of the toddlers sitting on the car’s floorboards. Lundstrom eventually admitted she left the children at the house when she went to pick up her son. When she was interviewed at a Springfield police station on March 7, 2022, Lundstrom told the detective she believed her 18-year-old daughter was home at the time Coleman Shirley died.
Dr. Deiter Duff, the Greene County Medical Examiner, testified on Feb. 27 that the baby’s cause of death was asphyxiation due to strangulation caused by the car seat’s buckle and strap. Duff testified in detail about the marks on the baby’s neck that matched the car seat’s buckle and strap.
According to evidence presented at trial — including Lundstrom’s own words to an investigator — this was not the first time Lundstrom had left the children alone in the house to pick up her son.
In Missouri, it is illegal for an unlicensed daycare provider to care for more than six children.
Parent: ‘It could have been any of the children’
Several parents of children in Lundstrom’s care testified at the penalty phase of her trial.
“She told us she could have no more than five. That was her limit,” said Jerilyn Osborn. When Osborn learned what happened to 8-month-old Coleman Shirley, Osborn said she felt sick.
“I realized just how close that could have been,” Osborn said. “It could have been any of the children, including my own.”
Margaret Boomgaarden told the jury about how her young son, Max, never crawled or reached expected developmental milestones while he was in Lundstrom’s care. At the time, the Boomgaardens didn’t realize how much time their child was spending in a car seat on a typical day.
“He didn’t do things the way my older son did,” Boomgaarden said. “I brought all these up to Deborah and she made me feel like I was overprotective. He didn’t walk. He didn’t talk.
“I knew there was something more there,” she said. “I know now.”
Boomgaarden said once she got Max into a different child care facility, he “flourished.”
“We got him into leg braces. He was running and walking,” she said. “He is still delayed, but we are working on it and supporting him.”
Boomgaarden recalled one time picking up Max and it was obvious he had been crying for a long time.
“He was visibly upset, visibly sad. I asked what happened and (Lundstrom) said, ‘I don’t know. I guess he didn’t like the (car ride).”
Boomgaarden said she noticed red marks on Max's skin that appeared to be from his car seat straps.
“Now I know,” she said, crying. “I should have taken him away. It’s one of those things I should have noticed.”
A brother left behind
The Shirleys described to the jury the impact Coleman’s death has had on their family, especially Coleman’s big brother Jackson.
Jackson is now 5 and continues to ask and talk about Coleman.
“When I left the hospital that day, I had to explain to my son his brother wasn't coming home,” Robert Shirley said. “To this day, that was the hardest thing I’ve had to do. I shouldn’t have had to do that.
“He didn’t understand,” Robert Shirley said. “He kept telling us to go back into the hospital and get Cole.”
Rachel Shirley, who is now pregnant, said Jackson tells people, “God decided to bring Baby Cole to Heaven and God is keeping him safe.”
Jackson is now worried about his mother's pregnancy, Rachel Shirley said.
“He thinks all babies are going to disappear,” Rachel Shirley said. “He will ask me, ‘Can we keep this one at home? Can this baby not go to Heaven?’”
‘I was trying to protect my daughter'
First Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Philip Fuhrman questioned Lundstrom if she was sure she wanted to continue to blame her daughter.
“You realize the jury disagrees with you on that. You have been found guilty,” he said.
“My daughter was home,” Lundstrom replied. “Maybe she wasn’t in the same room.”
Fuhrman questioned Lundstrom about her saying she was sorry during the sentencing hearing.
“Were you sorry on March 2, 2022,” he asked. “When you were trying to prevent police from finding out the truth?”
“I was trying to protect my daughter,” Lundstrom replied.
Fuhrman argued Lundstrom is continuing to put blame on her then teenage daughter and is accusing her daughter of the same crimes Lundstrom was convicted of less than 24 hours earlier.
After the jury returned its sentencing recommendation, Lundstrom was returned to the Greene County Jail.
