Officials: Parents Charged With Murder For 10-Month-Old Daughter's Overdose Death
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UPPER DARBY, Pa. (CBS) -- The parents of a 10-month-old girl were charged with murder Thursday for the infant's overdose death, Upper Darby Police said during a press conference Thursday. The child died in April as the result of a fentanyl overdose.
Joseph Milano, 31, and Lauren Semanyk, 34, were charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter, conspiracy, endangering the welfare of a child and use of drug paraphernalia.
"This is a very, very tragic story and it shows what drug addiction can do," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Mike Chitwood said.
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On April 16 at 1:17 a.m., police responded to a call of a child in cardiac arrest. The child was taken from the Upper Darby home to Delaware County Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Initially, police were told the child had drowned in a bathtub. But an autopsy revealed that there was no water in the infant's lungs. Later, a toxicology report showed the child had ingested fentanyl.
"She was healthy, she was just learning to walk; she could say 'mama' and 'dada,' and she's dead," Chitwood said of the victim.
Milano was arrested in prison Wednesday, where he was being held for a DUI arrest. Semanyk surrendered to police around 5 p.m. on Wednesday.