As 5-year-old Landon Maloberti lay unresponsive on a hospital bed, covered with bruises and connected to medical equipment by wires and tubes, his adoptive mother’s emotions ranged from calm to frenzy.
Emergency room doctors, nurses and support staff worked feverishly to diagnosis and treat the boy while his mother offered a series of explanations for the injuries that would lead to Landon’s death a week later, according to witnesses testifying during the second day in the murder trial of Lauren Maloberti.
“I looked right into her eyes, and there were no tears,” patient access specialist Susan Ghrist told jurors Wednesday.
Maloberti, 36, of Delmont is accused of criminal homicide, aggravated assault and other related offenses in connection with allegations that her son was brutally beaten, emotionally abused, tortured and killed in early 2023.
Staffers at the AHN Hempfield Neighborhood Hospital testified Maloberti walked into the emergency room in the early evening of Jan. 30, 2023, with her son slumped over on her shoulder and unconscious.
It was immediately evident the child was fighting for his life, according to a parade of emergency room doctors and nurses who testified Wednesday.
Nurse Matthew Staub said Landon’s body was covered in bruises, including several on the boy’s arms and legs.
Several appeared to include adult-size fingerprints. He testified a large bruise on the boy’s chest looked like it was made by knuckles.
A brain scan revealed catastrophic injury, he testified.
“In nine years working in an emergency room, he was the worst (condition) pediatric patient I have had to date,” Staub told jurors.
Medical personnel testified Maloberti was initially calm but became more agitated and required oxygen as doctors and nurses assessed her son’s dire condition. Prosecutors contend that emotional shift was intended to shift blame for the child’s condition.
Witnesses said Maloberti gave multiple explanations for the injuries.
“I remember her saying he’s clumsy and there were behavioral issues and that he fell,” nurse Melinda Kinnan told jurors.
Physician assistant Keith Jankowski said Maloberti suggested the child fell down steps.
Prosecutors contend Maloberti and her husband, Jacob, whom she married in 2021, were responsible for the child’s fatal injuries and refused to seek prompt medical attention for the boy.
Lauren Maloberti initially took custody of Landon just months after he was born to her cousin in 2017. She adopted the boy two years later.
Jacob Maloberti, 36, is facing similar charges. He is expected to testify against his wife.
According to testimony from a neighbor, family members, friends and school officials, Lauren Maloberti was the parent who primarily cared for Landon. They described how, over time, she appeared to grow frustrated with their relationship.
Multiple witnesses testified Maloberti claimed Landon hated her and that she did not understand why he did not love his mother.
Deanna Kwecenski testified that, during a summertime birthday party in 2022, Maloberti refused to allow Landon to play with other children as a punishment. She described another incident following her daughter’s sleepover at the Maloberti house in November 2022 when the child was denied food sitting at a restaurant table while other children were allowed to eat.
Kwecenski told jurors Maloberti would confide to her the difficulties she had with caring for her adopted son.
“She said they kicked him out of preschool for behavioral issues and that he already saw a specialist who saw the evil in his eyes,” Kwecenski testified.
Officials with Westmoreland Community Action, which ran the Head Start program Landon attended in 2021, testified the child was reasonably well behaved in school despite Maloberti’s contention that he was ill-behaved at home.
“I got the impression that because Landon was not her biological child, they were struggling to form a bond,” Head Start teacher Lori Beth Pellis testified.
Head Start director Nicole Zimmerman told jurors Landon was a “typical preschooler” and was not removed from the school program.
Melissa Friend, a physician’s assistant, testified Maloberti brought Landon in for an annual checkup in August 2022 prior to the start of kindergarten.
“School started the next day, and mom was concerned about ongoing behavioral issues and diabetes. She said there was a family history,” Friend told jurors. She testified the child showed no signs of abuse during that examination and that her recommendation for additional testing was ignored, according to medical records.
The child did not attend kindergarten, according to prosecutors.
Testimony will continue Thursday before Westmoreland County Comon Pleas Judge Scott Mears.