Named in the suit is Muncie’s Westminster Presbyterian Church (PCA), where the Chengs were members. According to the lawsuit, an associate pastor recommended Byrd, also a member of the church, as a babysitter

The parents of an infant that died under the care of a Muncie babysitter have filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

The suit was filed against 43-year-old Tina Byrd, who is already charged with neglect of a dependent in connection with the death of four-month-old Matthew Cheng. The boy was the second to die under Byrd’s care, who faces three charges in all, including lying to police. She told investigators in January that she was home with the little boy; instead, she was picking up a daughter from school and shopping.

“From about 2:30 until 2:55, that infant was home and there wasn’t anyone else in that house, other than her pets,” a Muncie Police officer said.

Just 11 weeks earlier, another child died in Byrd’s care, under what investigators call “unexplained” circumstances. Attorneys for Cheng’s parents allege in the suit that Byrd placed the sleeping child on his stomach, despite knowing that could create a risk of death for infants, commonly known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.