Lenoir Daycare license suspended, employee arrested after toddler’s death

Alexandra Coffey is charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to the death of a toddler at a Lenoir daycare.

UPDATE:

LENOIR, NC – A daycare employee is now charged in connection to the death of a toddler at Creative Beginnings of Lenoir.

Police were called to the daycare on Monday after a 16-month-old identified as Maddy went into cardiac arrest.

First responders found the child unresponsive and did CPR and other life-saving measures.

Police arrested daycare employee Alexandra Coffey on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old is charged with involuntary manslaughter and is being held on a $500,000 secured bond.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has suspended the daycare’s license.

There’s no word how Maddy died.

ORIGINAL STORY (POSTED 5/20/25):

LENOIR, NC – Police are investigating the death of a 16-month-old child who went into cardiac arrest at a preschool in Lenoir.

Officers were called to Creative Beginnings of Lenoir on Morganton Boulevard around 2:45 Monday afternoon.

Officials say first responders found the child unresponsive and did CPR and other life-saving measures on scene.

EMS took the child to the hospital where the toddler was pronounced dead.

Police are looking into what happened and say the preschool has been fully cooperative with the investigation.

Investigators are working with the state Medical Examiner’s office to determine the exact cause of death.

Creative Beginnings posted a statement on Facebook, saying it is deeply saddened by the loss.

A family friend set up a GoFundMe to raise money for the family. The page says the child’s mother sent her to daycare for the first time on Monday and she never woke up after nap time. The family is expecting medical examiner’s to perform an autopsy Thursday.