LAKE COUNTY, Ohio (Scripps News Group) – A Lake County mother was sentenced to 15 years in prison on felony charges related to injuring her infant child in 2024.
Judge Patrick J. Condon sentenced Megan Bayko of Painesville to serve five 36-month sentences consecutively, one for each count of child endangerment she faced.
“We’re happy that she got all 15 years,” said Jennifer Kvoriak, Makenna Rae’s grandmother. “That’s what we wanted and justice for Makenna and it’s a start,” she added.
In September 2025, Bayko was charged after her 6-month-old daughter, Makenna Rae, was brought to UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in May of 2024. She weighed 12 pounds at admission. She had broken bones, bruises and a brain bleed.
She was found guilty of the third-degree felony charges in January.
During the trial, two doctors testified in the case, saying that Makenna was underweight, vomiting, and not moving on her right side. One doctor told the jury the injuries had happened weeks or possibly months before she was taken to the hospital.
For the first time, Bayko spoke in court. The pregnant mother of three told Judge Patrick Condon, all she ever wanted was to be a mother. “The truth is I love my kids and I would never hurt any of them. This horrible tragedy has not only affect my life but my family’s life,” said Bayko.
Kvoriak — who is now the child’s full-time caregiver — previously told us her injuries were “significant, devastating and life-long.”
Makenna is now 2 years old and thriving, according to Kvoriak.
This story was originally published by Scripps News Group of Cleveland.
