Toms River Babysitter Guilty of Aggravated Manslaughter

A Toms River woman has been found guity of aggravated manslaughter in the death of a 14-month-old boy she had been babysitting.

Michelle Heale, 46, was found guilty Friday afternoon in the death of Mason Hess by a Monmouth County jury sitting in Freehold Friday after deliberating for a day and a half following the monthlong trial.

She had been facing charges of murder and endangering the welfare of a child in the case, but a report by News12 New Jersey said the jury went for the lesser charge of aggravated manslaughter instead of murder.

Prosecutors said Heale shook Mason Hess so hard that it snapped his neck while she was caring for him at her home on Aug. 28, 2012. Heale, who testified at the trial, said she did not shake the boy but that she had hit him hard between the shoulder blades to dislodge applesauce because he was choking.

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The trial was held in Monmouth County because the Michelle Heale’s husband and Mason Hess’s father both work for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. The two couples had been friends prior to Mason’s death, which is why Michelle Heale had been babysitting the boy.

The aggravated manslaughter charge carries a potential jail sentence of up to 30 years in prison, while the endangering charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, the News 12 report said.

Heale was taken to jail after the verdict, where she will remain until sentencing. She had been free on $200,000 bail.

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