New York Parents Sentenced for 3-Year-Old Neglect Death

A New York couple has been sentenced to prison for the death of their three-year-old daughter, Joycelynn Ann Dylewski, who died in February 2025 from severe neglect in their squalid Corinth apartment. Matthew and Samantha Dylewski each received the maximum sentence of 16 months to four years in state prison after pleading guilty to criminally negligent homicide.

Emergency responders were called to the family's Main Street home on February 19, 2025, after the parents reported their daughter was struggling to breathe. Joycelynn was pronounced dead at Saratoga Hospital shortly after. The Saratoga County Sheriff's Office ruled the death a homicide caused by complications from acute and chronic neglect.

Investigators described conditions inside the apartment as among the worst they had ever encountered. The home was condemned, with rooms filled with trash, debris, and insects. A cleaning contractor said he had to shovel trash from the floors and found dead flies and bugs throughout. Investigators reported their boots stuck to the floors, and the kitchen sink was clogged with sludge.

Evidence presented in court detailed the child's suffering. Joycelynn had a severe, untreated lice...