Father charged in tot’s suffocation death
While high, he rolled onto sleeping 14-month-old, detectives say
An Amity Township man has been charged in the suffocation death of his 14-month-old daughter, Berks County detectives said Thursday, May 7.
Dylan M. Staines, 27, was high on opioids and marijuana when he rolled onto the toddler, who he had sleeping in his bed, detectives said.
Staines, of the first block of Britton Street, surrendered Wednesday on charges of involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and drug-related offenses and was committed to Berks County Prison in lieu of $150,000 bail after arraignment before District Judge Kim L Bagenstose in Reading Central Court.
Chief County Detective Michael J. Gombar gave the following account:
On Feb. 18 at about 10 p.m., Staines called 9-1-1 to report that his daughter was unconscious and not breathing and that he was administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
About five minutes later, the first Amity officer arrived at Staines’ home, followed a minute later by a paramedic from Southern Berks Regional EMS.
They found the toddler lying on the floor inside the living room in cardiac arrest. The paramedic administered CPR and used an automated external defibrillator.
Additional
EMS personnel arrived at the scene and the child was transported to the Reading Hospital trauma center where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
The child’s mother was interviewed at the hospital. Her name
was not provided. She stated her daughter was alone in their bed with her father for about five minutes. When the mother returned to the bedroom, she found her daughter face down on the mattress underneath the blanket.
The Amity officers who arrived at the scene and met with the defendant and described his pupils as “pin holes”, suspecting that he was under the influence of a controlled substance. There was also a strong odor of marijuana inside the residence.
Based on the observations and interaction between police officers and Staines, county detectives got a search warrant to collect a blood sample from the girls’ father.
The blood sample was taken to a lab and tested positive for fentanyl and norfentanyl, which are synthetic opioids, and THC, the psychoactive component of marijauana.
Detectives also obtained a search warrant for the defendant’s residence.
Detectives along with member of the Berks County District Attorney’s Forensic Services Unit executed the search warrant and processed the crime scene, seizing marijuana, packaging material and paraphernalia.
On Feb. 20, forensic pathologist Dr. Supriya Kuruvilla performed an autopsy on the girl in Reading Hospital. She concluded that the cause of death was due to “mechanical asphyxia due to overlay.” The manner of death was ruled homicide.
On Tuesday, May 5, detectives filed the criminal charges against Staines at the Oley office of District Judge Steven Chieffo. An arrest warrant was issued.