Pewaukee mother pleads guilty on charges that she starved her autistic adult daughter to death in 2023

 

WAUKESHA COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Almost exactly two years after Cora Laszkiewicz, 23, was found dead in bed, her then 52-year-old mother pled guilty in Waukesha County court.

Prosecutors accused Amy Laszkiewicz, Cora's sole caretaker, of starving her severely autistic daughter to death.

When officials responded to a 911 call placed by Laszkiewicz on Jan. 4, 2023, they discovered Cora's body under blankets. Court documents reveal she was extremely thin -- weighing only 70 pounds at 5'5" -- a BMI so low the Centers for Disease Control's website couldn't calculate it.

Laszkiewicz was later charged with one count of recklessly subjecting an at-risk individual to abuse causing death and faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.

In a court hearing on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, she denied being at fault but pled guilty with the Alford plea, which allows criminal defendants to maintain their innocence while also accepting that prosecution likely has enough evidence to convince a judge or jury otherwise.

"I feel like I'm innocent," Laszkiewicz told the judge. "I didn't cause what they feel."

Her next court hearing will be March 21 at 9:30 a.m. for a sentencing.