Atchison mother gets probation in connection with death of 18-month-old daughter
An Atchison woman was sentenced to probation Wednesday after she was found guilty of aggravated child endangerment charges in connection with the death of her 18-month-old daughter.
A jury found Liberti N. Figueroa, 24, guilty of two counts of aggravated endangerment of a child in August, according to a Leavenworth County court document. She was acquitted of reckless involuntary manslaughter.
Figueroa was sentenced to six months in prison for each aggravated endangerment count, according to a press release from Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson. However, the judge suspended the sentence, placing Figueroa on probation.
Officers from the Leavenworth Police Department responded to an apartment in the 2900 block of Martin Luther King Drive around 5:40 p.m. on Oct. 18, 2023, where they found 18-month-old Saraphina Avarose Sanchez unresponsive.
Officers performed CPR and attempted life-saving measures, and /the toddler was taken to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Saraphina’s injuries were not consistent with information given to officers, Leavenworth Police Department Deputy Chief Dan Nicodemus previously told The Star.
An autopsy later revealed Saraphina had died from “head trauma that caused internal bleeding,” according to a news release from Leavenworth County Attorney’s Office Public Information Officer Micah Bray.
Figueroa was charged in connection with Saraphina’s death on Feb. 19, according to court documents. Each aggravated endangerment charge stems from two incidents involving the infant.
On Sept. 20, 2023, evidence revealed Figueroa was in an upstairs bedroom at her Leavenworth apartment when an ashtray fell onto Saraphina, who was lying on a bed, according to the news release.
On Oct. 18, 2023, the day officers found Saraphina not breathing in the apartment, investigators discovered Figueroa’s boyfriend, whom she had been seeing for only a few months, was watching Saraphina and another child, according to the news release.
Figueroa later told investigators her boyfriend “wasn’t a very responsible person” and that Saraphina was “sick and sleeping when she left,” according to the news release.
When Figueroa returned around 1 p.m., she did not check on Saraphina until 5 p.m, according to the news release. During that time, Figueroa left her apartment to purchase marijuana and smoked the substance with friends in the apartment.
Figueroa was not accused of directly inflicting injuries to the child, but prosecutors said the woman “acted recklessly by causing or permitting a child under the age of 18 to be placed in a situation where the child’s life, body or health was endangered – ultimately resulting in the child’s death.”
Saraphina, also known as “Sara Bear” or “Butterfly,” was described as a “crazy, beautiful, dancing, smart, sassy baby girl who enjoyed Elmo and eating,” according to her obituary.
The Star’s Andrea Klick and Robert A. Cronkleton contributed to this report.
This story was originally published October 15, 2025 at 5:24 PM.
