Lauren E. Maloberti and Jacob N. Maloberti (Westmoreland County Prison) and Landon Maloberti (WPXI screenshot)
The adoptive parents of a 5-year-old boy in Pennsylvania have been arrested for allegedly physically and emotionally torturing their son for most of his short life before ultimately killing him.
Lauren E. Maloberti and Jacob N. Maloberti were taken into custody Thursday night and charged with a slew of felonies in the slaying of young Landon Maloberti earlier this year, authorities announced.
Jacob Maloberti, who works as a corrections officer at Fayette State Correctional Center, was charged with one count each of criminal homicide, endangering the welfare of children, and criminal conspiracy, as well as two counts of aggravated assault of a child. Lauren Maloberti is facing the same charges as her husband, plus one count of first-degree murder.
Under Pennsylvania law, criminal homicide is an umbrella term that encompasses all classifications of murder, voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter, whereas first-degree murder alleges that the defendant knowingly and willing killed another person.
“In the 25 years I have been working for the Delmont Police Department, we have never faced an incident like this,” Delmont Police Chief T.J. Klobucar said in a statement about the disturbing nature of the case.
According to a press release from the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office, the investigation into the Malobertis began on the evening of Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, when they brought an unconscious Landon to AHN Hempfield Neighborhood Hospital. Due to the severity of his condition, the child was later transported to University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Children’s Hospital for more specialized care. Unfortunately, Landon ultimately succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead just over a week later, on the evening of Feb. 7.
The Allegheny County Medical examiner determined that the little boy’s manner of death was a homicide.
According to a copy of the criminal complaint obtained by Pittsburgh NBC affiliate WPXI, Landon’s parents waited a full day after he suffered his fatal injuries before seeking medical care for the boy. Furthermore, medical staff at the hospital reportedly told investigators that when the couple arrived at the facility they appeared to show “no urgency,” and they said that Landon was just “wobbly from COVID a month prior.”
Despite the parent’s alleged claims, UMPC doctors reportedly found that Landon had actually suffered three separate bleeds in his brain, describing his brain as “obliterated.”
During a Friday news conference, Westmoreland District Attorney Nicole W. Ziccarelli provided additional facts about Landon’s condition, saying he lived a “very tough” life prior to his death.
“One of the doctors at UPMC physician noted that Landon, he had multiple episodes of physical abuse in combination with at least two types of emotional maltreatment,” she said. “His injuries caused substantial pain at the time they were inflicted with impairment of function including inability to stand, inability to eat or drink, and loss of consciousness.”
Ziccarelli also read directly from the report provided by the pathologist for Westmoreland County.
“Landon had blunt force trauma to his head and neck, blunt force trauma to his torso, blunt force trauma to his extremities,” she continued. “Landon also had prolonged and intensive medical interventions prior to his death and multiple bruises in different stages of healing.”
In the criminal complaint, prosecutors alleged that Lauren Maloberti’s former colleagues told police she “hated” Landon and referred to him as “hard to love,” according to WPXI.
“Tragically, Landon suffered abuse and trauma over the span of his short life,” DA Ziccarelli said in closing Friday’s news conference. “We intend to prosecute this case with the dignity and honor Landon deserves.”
The Malobertis are being held in Westmoreland County Prison without bond. They are scheduled to appear in court again on Aug. 8. It was not immediately clear if they had retained attorneys as of Saturday morning.
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