Sentencing delayed for woman convicted in beating death of 5-year-old adopted son
08/06/2026 6:00 pm PDT
WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. (TCN) -- Sentencing has been delayed for a 36-year-old woman who was convicted in May of beating her adopted 5-year-old son to death in 2023.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by WPXI, Lauren Maloberti and her husband Jacob Maloberti brought their adopted son, Landon Maloberti, to the hospital on Jan. 30, 2023, after waiting a whole day to seek medical attention after they severely injured him. The couple stated that the child had had COVID-19 recently and was “wobbly” from it. When they arrived at the hospital, they reportedly appeared unhurried and lacked urgency.
Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said the child “had blunt force trauma to his head and neck, blunt force trauma to his torso, and blunt force trauma to his extremities,” per WPXI. In addition, he had suffered from three brain bleeds and a medical provider stated his brain was “obliterated.”
Investigators obtained text messages between Jacob and Lauren Maloberti and they were “full of disdain” for the child, according to WPXI.
According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Lauren Maloberti was convicted in May of third-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault, child endangerment, and conspiracy after a nine-day trial. Jacob Maloberti, whose case is still pending, testified against Lauren Maloberti at trial; he has been charged with criminal homicide and other related counts, per the Tribune-Review.
Lauren Maloberti was originally scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 4, but a judge pushed the hearing back to Oct. 19 to give Lauren Maloberti’s defense time to prepare their arguments. On Aug. 3, prosecutors requested that Lauren Maloberti’s sentences run consecutively; she faces a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 80 years behind bars.
Her attorney told the Tribune-Review he needs more time to prepare arguments against consecutive sentences for his client.
According to an obituary, Landon Maloberti “loved to play with monster trucks and cars, singing country music at the top of his lungs and eating pickles.”
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