Teresa Louise Biswanath Sentenced to Two Years in Prison Following Death of Infant in Her Care

HILLSBORO, Ore- On April 30, 2025, a Washington County jury found Teresa Louise Biswanath guilty of criminally negligent homicide. On May 9, 2025, Judge Erik Buchér sentenced the defendant to two years in prison. Senior Deputy District Attorney Chris Lewman prosecuted this case.

On August 30, 2022, an 11-month-old child died while under the care of the defendant, who was running an unlicensed in-home daycare. The defendant previously worked at a well-known childcare center where she underwent extensive training, including safe sleeping techniques for infants. That training precluded the practice of infant swaddling, and the defendant told police she followed that same policy at her business.

On the day of the child’s death, the defendant was caring for five children, including the victim. During nap time, the defendant squeezed the victim into a swaddle much too small for his size, one designed for newborns less than three months old who could not roll over or crawl as he could. She used straps to bind the child’s arms and put a pacifier with a 6-inch stuffed animal attached into his mouth.

The defendant initially tried to get the child to sleep in the same room with the other children, but eventually took him to a bedroom on the second floor of the home. She placed him facedown on the bed with his arms constrained by the swaddle and the pacifier in his mouth. The victim was upstairs for at least one hour as the defendant was in and out of the bedroom. The defendant left to check on the other children and when she returned to the upstairs room, she found the victim blue and unresponsive. She attempted to perform CPR while her husband called an ambulance. First responders were unable to revive the child.

Deaths related to an unsafe sleep environment are a leading cause of preventable child fatality nationwide, including in Washington County. To address this issue, the Washington County Child Abuse MDT has partnered with the National Cribs for Kids Program to provide free crib kits to eligible families residing in Washington County. In addition to providing a free portable crib and educational materials, community partners from the Washington County Public Health Maternal, Child & Family Program and the Healthy Families Program will work with eligible families to provide safe sleep education and distribute cribs. Please visit our website to learn more about this effort.

The Washington County District Attorney’s Office sends its deepest condolences to the victim’s family and loved ones.

In addition to her prison sentence, the defendant is barred from ever operating a licensed childcare center. She will also serve three years of post-prison supervision and was ordered to have no contact with the victim’s family.