Limestone baby sitter indicted in girl’s death

A Limestone woman accused of causing the death of a toddler she was baby-sitting last month was one of 64 people indicted by the Aroostook County grand jury on Friday.

Heather Fortin, 23, of Huggard Avenue, was indicted on a charge of manslaughter stemming from the death of 20-month-old Teairra Leathers.

Fortin was in her home baby-sitting the child on June 18. Fortin called 911 for an ambulance 15 minutes after she began watching the child because the little girl became unresponsive, she told police.

When the ambulance crew arrived, the 20-month-old was lying nearly unconscious on Fortin’s couch, according to police.

Leathers was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, where she died the next day of severe, acute trauma to the head – the kind of injury that couldn’t have been caused by a simple fall, according to the State Medical Examiner’s Office.

Fortin was arrested by Maine State Police detectives on June 27 and taken to the Aroostook County Jail in Houlton. She denied causing the baby any harm.

During her initial court appearance in Presque Isle on June 29, Fortin was held on $50,000 cash or $200,000 in property.

Information about whether or not she remains incarcerated was not available Friday evening.