Father charged in 5-month-old’s death over ‘shared bed’: Pennsylvania police

A Pennsylvania father has been charged in connection with the February bed-sharing death of his 5-month-old baby, police said.

A 36-year-old New Oxford man was charged June 24 with child endangerment, according to a Pennsylvania State Police report.

McClatchy News reached out to the man’s attorney for comment on July 1 but did not immediately receive a response.

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According to numerous media reports citing court documents, the man is accused of being under the influence of drugs when he put his child to sleep on the couch, propping him up against a pillow.

A drug test showed the presence of fentanyl and methadone, as well as other drugs in the man’s system, WHTM reported, citing the criminal complaint.

According to WPMT, the child’s mother returned from work around midnight on February 22 and noticed the child lying face down on a pillow and unresponsive.

The station reported that the infant was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

According to court documents, an autopsy revealed the baby’s cause of death was “unexpected death of an infant while sleeping in the same bed,” WGAL reports.

The autopsy also found that “suffocation cannot be ruled out, and sharing a bed with other people and sleeping face down on a pillow are considered unsafe sleeping conditions,” WHTM reported.

The father is being held in Adams County Prison on $25,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 3, court records show.

The American Academy of Pediatrics “strongly recommends against” sleeping in the same bed with your baby.

“According to the AAP, about 3,500 infants die from sleep-related deaths each year in the United States.”

New Oxford is located approximately 115 miles southwest of Philadelphia.