A defiant Delmont mother told a Westmoreland County jury Wednesday her husband raped and emotionally controlled her and that he was the person responsible for the injuries that caused her adopted 5-year-old son Landon Maloberti’s death in early 2023.
Lauren Maloberti, 36, testified she suspected Jacob Maloberti beat her child behind a locked bathroom door and later lobbied to prevent her from seeking prompt medical attention even as it became evident his condition had deteriorated on the day he was hospitalized with fatal injuries.
“Jacob was getting frustrated. He grabbed him by the upper forearm. Landon was crying,” Lauren Maloberti testified. She described events she claimed occurred in the early morning of Jan. 30, 2023, as the couple tried to sleep with their son and a friend’s young daughter they were paid to babysit during an overnight visit.
Jacob Maloberti walked Landon into the bathroom, then closed and locked the door, she testified. “I heard Landon screaming. He, (when they emerged from the bathroom), he had a pretty significant mark on his face.”
Lauren Maloberti was the lone witness to testify Wednesday during the eighth day of her murder trial. Prosecutors contend she and her husband beat, tortured and killed Landon over a prolonged period.
The Malobertis are being prosecuted separately.
Jacob Maloberti, who is also facing homicide and assault counts, testified this week for the prosecution.
He denied responsibility for the boy’s injuries, claimed his wife was the primary caregiver and said he, after years of reflection, suspected she was person who inflicted the boy’s fatal injuries.
The defense rested its case following Lauren Maloberti’s testimony.
When the trial resumes Thursday morning, attorneys will make closing arguments, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears will instruct the jury about the laws they are to follow and deliberations will begin.
Maloberti, wearing a black shirt under a tan jacket, showed little emotion during her more than four hours on the witness stand.
She claimed she was a good mother who rarely disciplined her three biological children from a previous marriage; Jacob’s biological son from his first marriage; Landon, whom she adopted in 2019; and an infant girl whom she and Jacob Maloberti took in as foster parents in 2021.
She denied allegations made by friends and family members who testified she had grown frustrated with Landon’s behavior and lack of affection toward her.
“He showed me love. I felt it, but sometimes I felt everyone else had it easier. Maybe it was because I was around him the most,” she told jurors during questioning from defense lawyer Adam Gorzelsky.
Maloberti said she began to realize Landon was struggling during the afternoon of Jan. 30, 2023. He appeared lethargic and slept much of the day before vomiting and falling unconscious while sitting at the dinner table.
She said she immediately rushed to clean him up and drive him to the hospital in Hempfield.
Her husband pushed to keep Landon at home, she said.
She conceded she never told medical officials, detectives or anyone else her suspicions that Landon’s injuries were caused by her husband.
“I didn’t want Jacob to get in trouble,” she testified. She later told the jury, “You don’t believe the person you purposely put in your child’s life was the person who harmed him.”
Maloberti told jurors her husband was controlling and physical with both her and Landon. She testified she saw Jacob Maloberti tie up Landon with a bandage and spank him with a spatula.
She said her husband dictated her actions, fed her medication and forced himself on her while she slept.
Assistant District Attorney Adam Barr asked Maloberti if she regretted her actions in the days and hours before Landon was hospitalized.
“Is it fair to say you failed Landon?” Barr asked.
“No,” Maloberti responded.
“Could you have protected him more?” Barr asked.
“I don’t know how to answer that,” she replied. “I did what I could when I knew something was wrong. I didn’t know something was seriously wrong until it was seriously wrong.”
Prosecutors questioned Maloberti about her experience during a five-year career as a hospital worker in which she claimed she performed some minor medical procedures. She testified she did not recognize her son’s serious injuries until it was too late.
Doctors previously testified Landon suffered more than 100 bruises over all of his body and a catastrophic brain injury that could not have been the result of an accident or fall.
Witnesses testified Lauren Maloberti’s now 10-year-old stepson claimed he saw her strike Landon in the head with a frying pan.
A child abuse advocate told jurors this week Landon might have survived his injuries if he had received prompt medical treatment.