Two charged with criminal homicide of infant

By OWEN WALSH
Posted 7/9/20

GOULDSBORO, PA — PA State Police have charged two Wayne County residents with criminal homicide of a three-month old infant.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, filed by Trooper …

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Two charged with criminal homicide of infant

Posted

GOULDSBORO, PA — PA State Police have charged two Wayne County residents with criminal homicide of a three-month-old infant.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, filed by Trooper Gregory Allen, Wayne County 911 received a call on September 25, 2019 that a three-month-old female was not breathing. The infant was transported by ambulance from her home in Gouldsboro to Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton and pronounced deceased upon arrival. Dr. John Stanton, who saw the child, noted bruising "characteristic of shaken baby syndrome."

Police visited the Gouldsboro residence and met the mother and the mother's live-in boyfriend. Police described the living conditions as "deplorable."

During interviews with police, both admitted to using drugs within hours of the infant's death. Both described falling asleep with the baby on the living room couch the night of her death, however, they gave conflicting accounts of the child's sleeping position. They described noticing that the baby was not moving and cold to the touch in the middle of the night and calling 911 after failing to get the child to respond.

When searching the house, police found drug paraphernalia including a hypodermic needle and a marijuana pipe.

At a later police interview, the mother again admitted to using drugs the night of her daughter's death. She also said that her boyfriend told her that he couldn't remember the night very well because he was high. She also said that, since the child was born, her boyfriend would "burp the child after a feeding very aggressively with striking hard blows to the back."

An autopsy revealed bruising, contusions, multiple fractures of the ribs, intradural hemorrhages, evidence of past hemorrhages and exposure to cocaine and methamphetamine.

The mother and boyfriend have been arrested and are set to appear in the Wayne County Courthouse on Thursday, July 9 for arraignment.

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