A Georgia babysitter gave a 2-year-old girl a fatal overdose of medication before mutilating her body, placing the remains in a plastic bin filled with a “salt substance,” and hiding it inside a closet.
Phillissa Diallo, 44, received a 37-year sentence last week, with the first 21 years to be served in prison, in connection with the death of Alyssa Rose Davis, according to the Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office. She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, cruelty to children, and concealing the death of another.
The case began on Dec. 14, 2022, when Diallo entered the Canton Police Department and told officers there was a dead child inside her apartment on Hearthstone Landing Drive. Police searched the apartment and found the child’s remains inside a plastic bin hidden in a closet beneath other belongings. Diallo would not tell investigators what had happened.
According to the prosecutor’s office, an autopsy revealed Alyssa had deadly levels of acetaminophen and diphenhydramine in her system. Acetaminophen is a pain reliever and fever reducer found in medicines such as Tylenol, while diphenhydramine is an antihistamine commonly found in medications including Benadryl. Alyssa was last seen alive on Dec. 8, 2022. Investigators later determined Diallo had been caring for the child during a two-week period.
Ring camera footage later revealed Diallo was barely caring for the child. Investigators said she frequently left Alyssa alone inside the apartment for long stretches and misled the girl’s mother during their regular conversations. Alyssa’s mother did not learn about her daughter’s death until police contacted her.
Diallo later told investigators she found Alyssa in distress but chose not to call 911. Prosecutors said the child would still be alive if she had sought medical help. Defense attorneys argued Diallo was suffering from delusions at the time and struggled with anxiety and depression.
“Instead of taking steps to protect the child’s health and safety, the defendant showed deliberate neglect. She then carried out horrific and unimaginable actions to hide the child’s death,” prosecutor Rachel Hines said in a statement. “Alyssa was denied the care, protection, and dignity every child deserves, and that reality will stay with everyone connected to this case forever.”
During sentencing, Alyssa’s mother said she had been “robbed” of her daughter. She added that Alyssa’s siblings “miss their sister deeply,” and said the family’s lives will never be the same.
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