A child abuse specialist told a Westmoreland County jury on Thursday that dozens of bruises and a brain injury suffered by 5-year-old Landon Maloberti was torture.
Dr. Michelle Clayton, pediatrics division chief at UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, testified the child who was hospitalized Jan. 30, 2023 and died a week later was a victim of physical and psychological abuse and nutritional and medical neglect.
“I diagnosed him with an assortment of injuries that were multiple forms of abuse with an overall degree of child torture,” Clayton testified during the third day in the murder trial of the boy’s adoptive mother.
Lauren Maloberti, 36, of Delmont is on trial in Westmoreland County on charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault, child endangerment and other related offenses in connection with the death more than three years ago of her adopted son.
Clayton told jurors she evaluated Landon as he lay unresponsive in a hospital bed. He was covered with bruises and was found to have suffered a catastrophic brain injury that caused his death on Feb. 5, 2023.
Prosecutors contend the boy’s parents, Lauren and Jacob Maloberti, 36, were responsible for the boy’s fatal injuries.
Jacob Maloberti is facing homicide and other related charges in a separate case, but is expected to testify against his wife at later in her trial, according to his lawyer.
Witnesses previously testified Lauren Maloberti claimed her son’s injuries were a result of one or more falls over a period of several days.
Clayton said Maloberti’s version of events cannot explain Landon’s injuries.
As prosecutors displayed more than two dozen pictures of Landon’s injuries that included bruises on his arms, legs, head, chest and side, Clayton testified it was not likely they were the result of accidents or the child’s clumsiness.
“These injuries were as a result of something inflicted on him and not something he did himself,” Clayton testified.
The doctor said she based her findings on an in-person of examination of the boy’s injuries, a review his medical records and investigative reports that included statements made by Lauren Maloberti.
Those records also included statements from family members who claimed Landon was routinely isolated from society, kept from having connections with his siblings and other family members, was not allowed to attend school, constantly punished and denied adequate food and drink.
Clayton said Landon was forced for scavenge the house for food, forced to drink from a toilet and that his parents failed to seek out prompt medical attention for what became fatal injuries.
The defense has denied those allegations.
Defense attorney Adam Gorzelsky questioned Clayton about her findings, suggesting it was based on faulty information and generalized assumptions as to how the child was injured.
His cross examination of Clayton will continue Friday morning.
Prosecutors continued their effort to prove Maloberti was a parent who had grown frustrated and resentful of her adopted son. They claim that she made false accusations of the child’s behavioral problems in the home.
Melissa Wnek said Maloberti was her hairdresser and that the two women spent lengthy periods of time together with Landon at her side. Wnek testified she never witnessed the behavior Maloberti attributed to her son.
Maloberti, she said, confided to her about Landon’s behavioral problems and her concerns that he had no affection for his adoptive mother.
Maloberti’s treatment of Landon appeared far different than how she interacted with her three biological children from another marriage and a foster daughter who the Malobertis took custody of in 2020, Wnek said.
“She seemed like an amazing mom with the other children,” Wnek testified. “She loved them. At first, she talked about Landon like the other kids, but a year later it changed.”