Woman sentenced in 2022 Alabama day care death

RED BAY, Ala. (WHNT) — Payton Gann, found guilty of manslaughter in the 2022 death of Autumn Wells, was sentenced to time in prison Tuesday.

According to Franklin County District Attorney Jeff Barksdale, Gann was sentenced on two charges:

• False reporting to law enforcement
• Manslaughter

Gann was sentenced to 20 years, split to serve six years in prison.

She was given five years for the manslaughter charge and one year for the false reporting charge, Barksdale said.

In June, a jury found Gann guilty of manslaughter in the death of four-month-old Autumn Wells at Tiny Tigers Daycare Center in Red Bay in March 2022. She is one of five women charged in this incident. The others are Angelene Chamblee, Hannah Grace Letson, Teia Kay Gann and Madison Jade McCalpin

According to court records, the cause of death for the infant was being left on their stomach on a “Boppy” pillow for an extended period of time.

During her trial, a Department of Human Resources investigator testified that the sleeping setup for the child did not meet state standards and that Gann was a certified state caregiver.

The DHR employee testified that any child under the age of 12 months must be laid on their back, flat on a mattress in a crib, with no pillows or blankets. The employee told the jury that Gann’s way of laying baby Autumn face down on a boppy pillow on March 9, 2022, violated state care standards.

She also testified Gann’s DHR file shows that she completed the state-required childcare training of 21 and a half hours. She said the training is focused on baby health, safety and sleep requirements.

A the time of the incident, Payton Gann and McCalpin were both indicted for manslaughter and false reporting to law enforcement. Teia Kay Gann and Letson were indicted for tampering with a witness. Letson was also indicted for tampering with physical evidence. Chamblee was indicted on six counts of child care act violation and two counts of forgery.

Earlier in 2025, Teia Gann entered a guilty plea and her charge was disposed. Letson pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence and the other charge was dismissed, according to court documents.

McCalpin applied for youthful offender status, but a judge denied that request in September 2022.