A New York couple, Matthew Dilibesky, 34, and Samantha Dilibesky, 33, were sent to prison after their 3-year-old daughter Jocelyn Anne Dilibesky died on February 19, 2025, at the family home in Corinth, New York. The case ended in criminally negligent homicide convictions after investigators found the child living in horrific conditions that included a severe lice infestation, rotting teeth, malnutrition, and a home packed with garbage.
Police described a disturbing scene on Jocelyn’s body and in the apartment. Her face and scalp were covered with insects, officers said a cockroach fell out of her winter hat when it was removed, and investigators called her teeth “rotten and black.” Saratoga County Sheriff Jeffrey Brown said she suffered from severe anemia that caused irreversible damage to her heart and internal organs because of the parasitic infection. He also said she had been given clonidine, a blood pressure drug not intended for her.
The apartment was so full of trash and waste that it was declared unfit for habitation and condemned. The investigation also found that Jocelyn’s four siblings had witnessed her daily suffering. Earlier this year, both parents pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and each received the maximum sentence of up to four years in prison.
At sentencing on Monday, Judge James Davis told Matthew Dilibesky, “The only job you had was to keep her safe. She was three years old, and you failed in the most horrific way. This was a completely preventable omission.” Matthew said he regretted that it was not him who died and added, “I still want to die so I can be with her.” Samantha, sentenced on June 8 by the same judge, said, “As her mother, my duty is to protect her from harm, and I failed.” Both parents are now barred from contacting their four surviving children until 2038.
