A Wisconsin mother will spend more than a decade behind bars after her 4-year-old special-needs daughter died with an extremely high level of alcohol in her system, according to court records.
Samantha S. Smith, 30, was sentenced Friday to 15 years in a state prison for her role in the 2021 death of her daughter, Zoey Chafer. Sawyer County Circuit Judge Anthony J. Stella Jr. also ordered Smith to serve five years of supervised release after completing her prison term.
Prosecutors said Zoey, who had severe cerebral palsy, was completely dependent on caregivers for basic needs. She was nonverbal, unable to move on her own and relied on a feeding tube for nutrition and hydration.
Smith reached a plea deal with prosecutors in November. She pleaded guilty to chronic child neglect and entered a no-contest plea to repeated physical abuse of a child causing great bodily harm. In exchange, a first-degree intentional homicide charge was dismissed but still considered by the judge during sentencing.
Authorities say the tragedy unfolded on July 28, 2021, when emergency crews were called to an apartment complex on West 2nd Street in Hayward, Wisconsin, after reports of an unconscious child.
When medics arrived, Zoey was pronounced dead at the scene.
Initially, the Sawyer County Coroner’s Office did not perform a full autopsy but did collect a blood sample for testing. The results shocked investigators.
Lab tests revealed Zoey had a blood alcohol concentration of .572 — a level far beyond what is considered lethal, especially for a child.
For comparison, adults in Wisconsin are legally intoxicated at a blood alcohol level of 0.08. Medical research shows that levels above 0.40 can lead to coma or death due to respiratory failure.
After the lab results were revealed, investigators ordered the child’s body to be exhumed so a full autopsy could be conducted.
The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office ultimately ruled Zoey’s death a homicide caused by acute ethanol toxicity — essentially alcohol poisoning.
“The presence of ethanol in a non-ambulatory child is consistent with intentional administration by another,” the medical examiner wrote in the report.
Investigators also documented additional injuries that raised concerns about ongoing abuse.
The autopsy found abrasions, bruises and healing fractures that experts said were consistent with non-accidental trauma.
Authorities said Smith’s boyfriend at the time, Domenic Falkner, had moved into the home in 2020 and had also been approved as a caregiver for Zoey. He was even paid to help care for the child.
During interviews with detectives, Smith and Falkner allegedly admitted they were the only adults in the home during the time the alcohol was introduced into Zoey’s system and were the only people responsible for operating her feeding tube.
Falkner was previously convicted on the same charges and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 1.
The heartbreaking case has left the Wisconsin community stunned as details emerged about the final hours of the young girl, who depended entirely on the adults around her for care and protection.
These people should be sterilized so they cant have any more kids in the future
Imagine 15 years for robbing a child of her life