Nicole Diggs and her husband have pleaded not guilty to charges of negligent homicide and child endangerment in the 2012 death of Alayah Savarese, who was the beneficiary of a trust fund created from the settlement of a malpractice suit that stemmed from complications during her birth.
The indictment doesn't allege that the trust fund was a motive, but Diggs' attorney says prosecutors are nevertheless implying that her client "somehow disposed of her daughter in order to obtain the money." She wants any mention of the trust fund barred from trial and says her client didn't neglect Alayah.
Prosecutors in Westchester County say Alayah "was not provided required daily food," did not receive necessary medical treatment, was often left unattended and was frequently kept home from school, depriving her of physical and occupational therapy.
Authorities say Alayah suffered lacerations, bruises and welts from the neglect. According to court papers, Diggs and her husband, Oscar Thomas — who isn't Alayah's father — also "failed to maintain the child's hygiene which caused her to have smelly and dirty hair and clothing, a foul odor about her body and bleeding gums."
On the day Alayah died in a Yonkers apartment, she was left in the care of one of Thomas' friends, who wasn't equipped to deal with her medical issues, court papers allege.
If convicted, the 32-year-old Diggs wouldn't be automatically disqualified from inheriting her daughter's fortune because she isn't charged with intending to kill the girl. Many states have so-called slayer statutes to prevent profiting from a crime, but New York courts have generally held that without intent, a homicide doesn't disqualify someone from inheriting from a victim, said St. John's Law School professor Margaret Turano, a trust and estate expert.
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Mom accused of killing severely disabled 8-year-old daughter could get $1M from girl's trust fund
