4 charged in 2022 fatal overdose of Somerset County 2-year-old
MILFORD TWP. — Four adults were arraigned Wednesday in the fatal overdose of a 2-year-old two years ago in Somerset County.
The toddler died at home along Stoy Road in Milford Township early Easter morning in 2022, according to a state police report at the time indicating an ongoing investigation into the death.
2022: State police investigating toddler's Easter morning death in Somerset County
Three people were arraigned before District Judge Sandra Stevanus of New Centerville on Wednesday. The fourth was arraigned later that day before on-call District Judge Susan Mankamyer in Boswell.
"Following a thorough and voluminous multi-agency investigation," the Somerset County District Attorney's Office said in a statement that charges have been filed Tuesday against Jeremy Chaney, 43; Rusty Koval, 36; and Linda Pape, 64, all of different residences in Somerset; and the child's mother, Lauren Livengood, 34, of Stoystown.
Each defendant has been charged with felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child and involuntary manslaughter, along with reckless endangerment. Koval faces additional charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and tampering with evidence.
"The child was brought to the emergency department of UPMC Somerset Hospital where he was unresponsive and eventually pronounced deceased," according to the news release.
The child's father, Chaney, and mother, Livengood, brought the child into the emergency room by private vehicle. The child's grandmother, Pape, also was at the hospital, according to Trooper Matthew Montag in a probable-cause affidavit.
The mother told state police that she had left the residence to go for a ride and when she returned she saw the toddler and brother lying on their beds in the living room. She noticed that the toddler was experiencing labored breathing, according to the report.
"It was related to me by the hospital staff that a preliminary urine test indicated that (child) had fentanyl in his system," he wrote.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid analgesic that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse.
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There was clinical evidence to suggest that the child’s death was drug-related, according to the report. Autopsy and toxicology records state that the boy's cause of death on April 17, 2022, was multiple drug intoxication. He was found to have fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and xylazine in his system at the time of death.
"This dangerous combination of deadly drugs is unimaginable and could have easily killed an adult, let alone a 2-year-old child," Somerset County District Attorney Molly Metzgar said.
"The individuals charged all resided in the same household as the child and were designated caregivers. Each individual is alleged to have violated their duty of care to the child by having knowledge of ongoing drug activity within the home, and the drug activity thereby caused the death of the child," she said.
The four defendants are tentatively scheduled to appear before Stevanus at 1:30 p.m. May 1 for a preliminary hearing on the charges. None have an attorney listed on court documents.
All four are in the Somerset County Jail in lieu of bail. Bail was set for Koval at $100,000 secured, Chaney, $75,000 secured, and Pape and Livengood at $50,000 secured.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: 4 charged in 2022 fatal overdose of 2-year-old in Somerset County PA
