Amanda Leigh Greger was wearing a hooded sweatshirt "covered in what appeared to be blood and vomit" when her friend's mother returned home from an overnight shift to find her 1-year-old daughter severely beaten, police said.
The toddler sustained life-threatening injuries including a brain bleed, bruised lungs, fluid along her spine and fluid around her heart, according to authorities. She was placed in the pediatric intensive care unit, intubated and kept heavily sedated on a ventilator as she recovered.
Background
Greger, 38, had been trusted to care for Melissa Bilby's daughter while the mother worked an overnight shift, according to investigators. The two women were described as "lifetime friends" in a GoFundMe page created by the victim's aunt for medical expenses.
"She was a lifetime friend of mine whom I trusted to protect and keep her kids safe while she worked to provide for them," Bilby wrote on the fundraising page, which detailed the extent of her daughter's injuries.
When Bilby returned to her Goshen Township home in the greater Cincinnati area, she found Greger asleep in the room with the baby. The babysitter was wearing the blood-soaked sweatshirt, according to a police affidavit.
The Investigation
Investigators discovered bloodstains "located throughout the room," the affidavit stated. They also found the victim's clothing in the washing machine.
"The clothing [the victim] had been wearing was found in the washing machine, washed but still visibly stained," according to the document. Bilby confirmed the stained clothing recovered from the machine was what her daughter had been wearing when she left for work the previous evening.
According to prosecutors, Greger allegedly caused injuries so severe that blood was "seeping from [the] right eye" of the toddler. Following the baby's admission to the hospital in November, investigators pursued charges against Greger.
On May 28, Greger pleaded guilty to one count of felonious assault and one count of tampering with evidence, according to a judgment and sentencing order reviewed by Law&Crime. Additional charges, including child endangerment, were dropped as part of the plea agreement.
"The Court inquired of the defendant if they had anything to say on their behalf prior to sentencing, or if there is any good and sufficient reason why sentence should not be pronounced, and the defendant stated they did not," the order reads. Greger did not address the court before learning her fate.
Key Takeaways
- Amanda Leigh Greger was sentenced to at least 3.5 years in prison for beating a friend's 1-year-old daughter while babysitting overnight
- The toddler suffered a brain bleed, bruised lungs and fluid accumulation around her heart and spine
- Police found Greger wearing a blood-soaked hooded sweatshirt when the mother returned home from her shift
- Bloodstains were discovered throughout the room and on washed clothing in the washing machine
- Greger pleaded guilty to felonious assault and tampering with evidence; additional charges were dropped
What's Next
Greger will serve a minimum of 3.5 years behind bars before becoming eligible for parole consideration. The victim's family has not publicly disclosed her current medical condition or prognosis following the November attack.