A husband is now testifying against his own wife in a Pennsylvania murder trial — and the text messages prosecutors say she sent him paint a devastating picture of what their adopted son endured in the months before his death.
Lauren Maloberti, 36, is on trial in Westmoreland County for the death of 5-year-old Landon Maloberti, who was found with more than 100 bruises and a severe brain injury before dying from blunt-force trauma in February 2023.
Her husband, Jacob Maloberti, who faces separate but related charges — stopping short of first-degree murder — took the stand this week as a key witness for the prosecution.
“The person I thought I was married to, I lost complete trust in,” he told the courtroom, according to news.
What the texts allegedly said
Among the most striking evidence prosecutors presented were text messages Lauren allegedly sent Jacob months before Landon was hospitalized.
In July 2022 — roughly six months before Landon was brought unconscious to a medical center — Lauren allegedly texted her husband: “I just got done beating your son,” followed by a curse word, adding that she was “wide awake.”
The following month, she reportedly texted: “Landon better behave.” When Jacob responded asking if Landon had said anything, she allegedly replied: “He’s gonna get it.”
Jacob testified he didn’t connect those messages to deliberate abuse at the time. “I always thought it was medical,” he said. It wasn’t until after both parents were arrested, he testified, that he began to question whether something darker had been happening to the boy.
The night Landon was brought in
On January 30, 2023, the couple brought an unconscious Landon to a local medical center. He was transferred to a children’s hospital, where he died approximately one week later.
Staff at the first facility told investigators the couple appeared to show “no urgency” when they arrived, and said the child was simply “wobbly from COVID a month prior.”
A forensic examination would later reveal more than 100 bruises across Landon’s body, a severe brain injury, and evidence of prior, repeated abuse.
What other children in the home reportedly witnessed
Prosecutors say Lauren was “loving” toward her other children — but not toward Landon. According to investigators, the other children in the home told authorities that Landon was slapped by his mother, sprayed with water, forced to drink from a toilet, and monitored by a camera.
“Landon was in the care and supervision of his adoptive family leading up to his death,” the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office stated when the couple was charged. “A forensic examination revealed previous injuries and evidence of abuse prior to his death, as well.”
The defense’s position
Lauren Maloberti’s attorney is urging the jury to see the case as more complicated than the prosecution presents.
“We have a child who’s deceased,” the defense attorney told the court. “I’m not even sure the commonwealth knows what happened with Landon. It’s a complicated situation.”
What happens next
Lauren Maloberti faces charges of first-degree murder, criminal homicide, aggravated assault, and child endangerment. Jacob Maloberti faces the same charges except for first-degree murder and is set to face his own proceedings — court records show a disposition hearing is scheduled for May 22.
His testimony this week against his wife marks a significant turn in a case that has gripped the local community since Landon’s death more than two years ago.
