From Media Reports
STARKVILLE – A former child care worker accused of giving two infants a muscle relaxer to quiet them down will stand trial for child abuse in September. The trial date for Dianna Lynn Covin was scheduled by a Starkville city judge on Monday, July 2.
Covin, 52, is charged with two counts of felony child abuse after she was arrested June 6 following a police investigation involving infants under her care.
According to two separately filed affidavits, Covin allegedly gave a 5-month-old girl and a 7-month-old boy the muscle relaxer Tizanidine “for the express purpose of keeping (them) quiet.”
Police said the incident occurred in May.
Covin was employed by the Creative Learning Center (CLC), the full-time daycare of First Baptist Church in Starkville, at the time of the alleged incidents. She’d worked in the capacity for almost 10 years.
The Creative Learning Center is licensed by the Mississippi State Department of Health.
Following Covin’s arrest, CLC Executive Director Karen Graham said in a statement that the CLC was “shocked and broken-hearted.”
Graham said Covin was fired from her position in May.
If convicted, Covin could face a $1,000 fine and/or one year in jail.
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