A Wisconsin man will spend 15 years in prison after a 4-year-old girl with special needs died from alcohol poisoning — alcohol that was put directly into her feeding tube.
Who Was Zoey Chafer?
Zoey was diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy at birth. She was nonverbal, unable to move, and depended entirely on a feeding tube for food and water. She was 4 years old when she died in July 2021.
What Happened?
Domenic Robert Falkner, 29, was the boyfriend of Zoey’s mother and was a state-approved caregiver for the child. On July 28, 2021, medics responded to a 911 call about an unconscious girl at a Hayward apartment. Zoey was declared dead at the scene.
A blood test later revealed Zoey had a blood alcohol content of 0.572 — more than seven times the legal limit for an adult in Wisconsin.
Medical examiners ruled her death a homicide. Cause of death: acute ethanol toxicity.
What Did the Autopsy Find?
Beyond the alcohol, the medical examiner also found signs of physical abuse — abrasions, bruising, and healing fractures on Zoey’s body.
What Was the Sentence?
Sawyer County Circuit Judge Anthony J. Stella Jr. sentenced Falkner to:
- 15 years in state prison
- 5 years probation after release
Falkner pleaded no contest to repeated physical abuse of a child and chronic child negligence resulting in death. A first-degree intentional homicide charge was dismissed as part of the plea deal.
What About the Mother?
Zoey’s mother, Samantha S. Smith, was also sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading to the same charges in March.
Both Smith and Falkner admitted to investigators they were the only adults home when the alcohol was introduced into Zoey’s system — and the only ones who operated her feeding tubes.
— Coverage by thecmeaglet.com
