Watertown daycare provider sentenced on manslaughter charge
Codington Co. Jail
July 17, 2023
WATERTOWN, S.D.–A former Watertown child care provider has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the 2021 death of a 17-month-old child.
Amanda Walder was sentenced Friday in Codington County Court in Watertown. She pled guilty to the charge in March as part of a plea agreement. Walder also was ordered to pay restitution to Codington County and the family.
Walder was watching Liam Koistinen at her in-home daycare center on July 14, 2021 when Watertown police were called to a report of an unconscious child. The subsequent investigation revealed that Liam died of a traumatic brain injury caused by assault.
