Following a three-day trial in Leavenworth County District Court, Megan Forbes was found guilty as charged of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated endangering a child. The trial ended Wednesday, February 25th, 2026, and the charges stem from a grand jury indictment.
According to a news release from the office of Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson, firefighters were dispatched to Forbes’ home the morning of October 16th for a first-aid assist involving an infant. The release says firefighters and paramedics attempted life-saving measures before EMS transported the child to a Leavenworth hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Leavenworth police also responded.
The release says evidence at trial showed Forbes hosted a party at her home the previous night where alcohol was consumed, and that Forbes drank multiple alcoholic beverages. As guests were leaving, the release says Forbes expressed a desire to go to a bar, and an adult family member took and hid her car key after she attempted to leave.
The victim’s father was also at the party, according to the release, and had been drinking before falling asleep in a bed inside the home. Testimony cited in the release says Forbes later joined him in the same bed with the infant, and while breastfeeding, fell asleep with both the infant and the child’s father in the bed.
The release says the next morning Forbes woke up and observed blood on the infant’s face. Forbes and the child’s father then called 911.
An autopsy was performed October 17th, 2022. The coroner’s report, cited in the release, says the infant died from asphyxiation secondary to a co-sleeping/overlay event with an unsafe sleeping environment.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 27th in Leavenworth County District Court.
