Bensalem Police Searching For Father Wanted In Connection To Fentanyl-Related Death Of 4-Month-Old Baby
BENSALEM, Pa. (CBS) -- Authorities in Bucks County are searching for the father of a 4-month-old boy. The child died from fentanyl exposure.
The baby's mother and grandmother are currently behind bars inside the Bucks County Correctional Facility, but police are asking for the public's help to find the little boy's father who remains on the run.
A mother, father, and grandmother are charged in the fentanyl drug death of a 4-month-old baby boy.
"It's a tragic situation," said Bill McVey, director of public safety for Bensalem's police department.
On Jan. 7, Bensalem police were called to the 4900 block of Oak Street in Trevose for an infant in cardiac arrest. Officers arrived to find the baby living inside a home littered with food, clothing, trash, and drugs
"We uncovered 63 used baggies in the room that tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl, multiple needles, and other pieces of paraphernalia," McVey said.
Little baby Daniel died a short time later at the hospital. An autopsy found fentanyl in the child's blood.
"How that child ingested it is unknown at this point," McVey said.
Court records show the baby's maternal grandmother Donna Westmoreland, who was previously appointed as his foster mother, violated care orders by leaving the infant unsupervised with his parents, Felicity Westmoreland and Daniel Scott Howarth.
"The parents both had fentanyl in their system," Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said.
Weintraub says no other children were home at the time of the baby's death, calling this situation preventable.
"Baby Daniel had a right to life and he was let down all the way around by his family," he said. "If people had followed the directives that were ordered by the court, baby Daniel would be alive today."
Donna Westmoreland has been charged with child endangerment. Felicity Westmoreland and Daniel Howarth are charged with involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment, and possession of a controlled substance.
There is an active warrant for Daniel Howarth.
Anyone who knows where he may be is asked to call the police immediately.
