A three-year-old girl died from neglect in a condemned, bug-infested home, a court has heard. Joycelynn Ann Dylewski was found covered in lice and suffering from anaemia in the family’s apartment in Corinth, upstate New York, on 19 February 2025. The conditions she endured were so extreme that authorities later had no choice but to condemn the property.
Her parents, Matthew Dylewski, 34, and Samantha Dylewski, 33, have each been sentenced to prison terms of one year and four months to four years after pleading guilty to criminally negligent homicide. They appeared separately before Saratoga County Judge James Davis for sentencing this month, having entered their pleas earlier in the year.
Identical prison terms for parents
Matthew Dylewski was handed the sentence first; Samantha Dylewski received the same term days later. Both admitted that their failure to care for their daughter led directly to her death. The judge also imposed a restriction barring the couple from any contact with their four surviving children until 2038.
A home condemned by filth
The centrepiece of the case was the appalling state of the family’s living environment. Investigators described finding the apartment overwhelmed by rubbish and debris, with conditions so unsanitary that officials later condemned the property. When Joycelynn was examined, bugs were discovered on her face and scalp. A cockroach reportedly fell from her hat when it was removed. Her teeth were described as “rotten and black”.
The child’s untreated lice infestation had caused severe anaemia, which in turn damaged her heart and other organs. Authorities also found that she had been given clonidine, a medication used to treat high blood pressure. The combination of the anaemia and the presence of clonidine in her system was determined to have caused her death.
‘You failed as a parent’ – judge’s condemnation
Addressing Matthew Dylewski during sentencing, Judge Davis did not mince words. “You failed as a parent,” he said. “Your entire job was to keep her safe.” He reminded the father that Joycelynn had been “completely reliant” on her parents for care. “She was a three year-old, and you failed in the most horrific way,” the judge continued. “This was completely preventable, and it’s unconscionable, and I want you to think about that fact.”
Matthew Dylewski told the court that he thinks about his daughter constantly and wishes he had died instead. “I totally wish that it didn’t happen,” he said. “I wish it would be that I died instead of my daughter. I still think that to this day… Nothing is ever going to change. I still want to die so I can be with her.”
When Samantha Dylewski was sentenced, Judge Davis emphasised that her daughter’s suffering had been prolonged. “Your daughter suffered over a long period of time,” he said. He also noted that the couple’s other children were aware of what was happening. “It’s a gift to have a child. You had several children, and all of them suffered at your hands,” the judge added.
Samantha Dylewski acknowledged her failure in court. “As their mother, it’s my duty to protect them from harm, and I failed,” she said.
The couple’s four surviving children are now placed under a court order preventing any contact with their parents until 2038.
