Connecticut man tasked with watching girlfriend's toddler fatally abused her: Court papers

A 30-year-old Connecticut man is charged with abusing his Wilmington girlfriend's toddler so severely that while the 22-month-old girl had injuries visible throughout her body, an autopsy revealed they were even worse, according to court records.

Details of the girl's injuries and circumstances behind Timothy Olschafskie being charged with first-degree murder by abuse or neglect were detailed in court documents obtained by Delaware Online/The News Journal.

Wednesday was the first time Wilmington police, who have not identified the girl, publicly acknowledged the child's killing without being prompted by reporters. Beyond such details as dates, location and the single charge Olschafskie faces, police did not provide more information.

"We will not be releasing any further details about this incident out of respect for the victim's family," police said in a statement.

The department did not respond to a question about a discrepancy in the age provided by police versus the court documents. The department said the girl was 21 months old, while court documents said she was 22 months old.

More: Connecticut man charged with killing girlfriend's months-old child extradited to Delaware

Signs of physical injury and a lie

Olschafskie first came to the attention of Delaware authorities on March 11 when, according to court documents, Wilmington officers were dispatched to the 100 block of Towne Estates Drive in reference to a "CPR in progress involving a child."

There, first responders found the girl "in the living room of the apartment, unresponsive, not breathing and lying on the couch," the court documents said. "[The girl] had visible signs of physical injury throughout her body."

The Ansonia, Connecticut, man was the only adult when first responders arrived at the apartment, which belonged to his girlfriend.

When one of the officers at the scene asked for his name, court documents said, Olschafskie claimed he was Timothy Edwards. A second officer asked for his name, but this time Olschafskie said: "I don't want to give my name." His middle name is Edward.

When the officers again asked for his name, documents claim, Olschafskie asked if he could write his name. He then wrote "Timothy Olschafskie, DOB: 08/24/1993."

Olschafskie told the officer he originally lied because he was on probation in Connecticut. Police confirmed this with Connecticut Adult Probation.

More: Connecticut man facing Delaware murder charge lied to police responding to child emergency

What he was on probation for in Connecticut was not disclosed in the court documents, but according to the Associated Press, Olschafskie was sentenced in 2015 to two years in a Connecticut prison for killing five cats.

Alone with the child

Olschafskie, according to the court documents, told police he'd been staying at the apartment when the child began crying sometime around 1:30 to 2 a.m. on March 11. He got up to check on her, court records say, and when he noticed she had thrown up on herself, Olschafskie told police he changed her diaper and cleaned her up.

His girlfriend left for work about 7 that morning, leaving Olschafskie as the child's "sole caretaker," the court document said.

Sometime between 8 and 9 in the morning, Olschafskie told police he saw on the baby monitor that the girl was awake and went to get her from her bedroom.

"According to Timothy, [the girl] was woozy and looked tired so he put her down and she stumbled into the living room at which time she fell down and started to have a seizure," the court documents said. "Timothy began CPR shortly after [the girl] became unresponsive and called [his girlfriend] via FaceTime to inform her of what was going on."

As the mother watched this over FaceTime, court documents said, Olschafskie told her to call 911. She did, then arrived home before her daughter was taken to Nemours Children's Hospital in Delaware.

She died about 1:30 p.m.

What the detective found

An autopsy was performed two days later, which court documents said revealed the child suffered "blunt-impact" injuries to the head, trunk and extremities. This included cuts to the pancreas; liver; and mesentery, which is a membrane that attaches the intestine to the wall around the stomach.

"The cause of death was ruled blunt force injuries to the torso and the manner was deemed homicide," the court documents said.

The Wilmington police investigator said in court documents that she collected several sources of video surveillance, including home surveillance that shows Olschafskie — four minutes after the first 911 call was placed — in the girl's bedroom making her bed while the child was alone and unresponsive in the living room.

The Wilmington detective also conducted additional interviews, including with medical experts and pathologists who helped determine that given the child's abdominal injuries, "she would have gone unresponsive and bled out shortly after sustaining her fatal injuries."

Protective order

Hints Olschafskie had killed a child could be found in a protective order filed last June in Delaware Family Court.

The document, obtained by Delaware Online/The News Journal after learning of Olschafskie's arrest last week, was filed by the child's mother. The first page of the three-page document explains the circumstances why Family Court issued the protective order on June 1.

This includes: "Respondent has exposed a member of Petitioner's family or household to physical injury or serious physical injury. To wit: Suspect of murder of petitioner's child."

Where was Olschafskie found?

Olschafskie was at a Connecticut Burger King on Nov. 2 when Enfield police arrived there for an unrelated incident. Police, however, ran Olschafskie's name in their system and found he had a warrant out for his arrest.

He was taken into custody for being a fugitive.

More: Conn. man arrested on charge of murder by abuse, neglect in Del., awaiting extradition

Olschafskie remained in Connecticut until Tuesday when he was extradited to Delaware, where he was charged with first-degree murder by abuse or neglect.

He has been committed to Howard R. Young Correctional Institution after failing to post $2 million cash bail.

Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Connecticut man abused, killed girlfriend's toddler: Court docs