48 Hours

Blaming the Babysitter (19x17)

Air date: Feb 04, 2006

On a long holiday weekend in January 2005, 13-year-old Ashley Howes was asked to babysit the daughters of a family acquaintance. A rite of passage for many teenaged girls, the assignment would be "fun," Ashley thought. But on that Sunday night, the fun ended when Ashley frantically called 911 to report that 19-month-old Freya Garden, a toddler in her care, lost consciousness. Within hours, the toddler was dead and Ashley would find herself accused of second-degree murder. Correspondent Harold Dow reports on this shocking case, and the stunning courtroom development that would change everything.