A Virginia woman has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for fatally poisoning her 3-month-old granddaughter with prescription medication while babysitting the infant and her twin sibling.
Alvetta Juanita Haskins, 51, pleaded guilty in November 2025 to one count of felony homicide. On Friday, Norfolk Circuit Court Judge Jamilah LeCruise sentenced her to 30 years in prison, with 17 years and three months suspended. Haskins will serve 12 years and nine months behind bars.
The infant, Skylar, died after Haskins placed prescription medication and cough syrup into her bottle in April 2024, prosecutors said. Haskins was caring for her twin grandchildren at an apartment she shared with her boyfriend on Suburban Parkway in Norfolk when the incident occurred, according to The Virginian-Pilot.
“At some point, Ms. Haskins added her prescription antipsychotic medication as well as cough syrup into her granddaughter’s baby bottle and fed it to her,” the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office wrote in a press release last year. “While it remains unclear why she did so, it appears that she did so to quiet the baby.”
Haskins maintained that she believed Skylar had a stuffy nose and said she did not have children’s Tylenol available. She claimed she thought she was mixing adult Tylenol with powdered baby formula but mistakenly used a different medication.
After midnight, Haskins checked on the infants and found Skylar unresponsive with vomit on her face. She called emergency services and attempted CPR, but the baby could not be revived. Paramedics transported Skylar to Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, where she was pronounced dead.
A toxicology report issued in July 2024 determined that Skylar died from Seroquel, an antipsychotic medication prescribed to Haskins for anxiety and depression. An over-the-counter antihistamine commonly used for cold symptoms was also detected in the child’s blood.
During a second police interview in November 2024, prosecutors said Haskins did not disclose the medication. Haskins and her attorney have maintained that she initially did not remember using it and that the poisoning was accidental.
“I wish I could take it all back but I can’t,” Haskins told the courtroom through tears. “That was my family, my blood. I didn’t know it was the wrong medication till the detective and my daughter told me so.”
Haskins said she had been arguing with her boyfriend while preparing the bottle and kept her prescriptions together in one container.
“I was trembling,” the defendant told the judge.
“Babies are not adults, and they should never be given prescription medication except by a doctor’s order,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi said in a statement. “Had her granddaughter lived, the proper charge against Ms. Haskins would have been felony child neglect, but since her granddaughter died, the proper charge is felony homicide. Anyone who takes responsibility for watching children, especially babies, must do so with care and must face the consequences if they engage in dangerous behavior such as this.”
“Regardless of the sentence I pronounce, her granddaughter will never be able to enjoy life,” Judge LeCruise said before imposing the sentence. As Haskins was led from court, relatives, including her daughter, told her: “I love you.”