Pittsburgh-area dad who allegedly fell asleep on baby charged with concealing child's death
MOUNT PLEASANT TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) -- A father in Westmoreland County is charged with concealing the death of a child after police say he fell asleep on his 8-month-old baby boy, suffocating him.
According to police paperwork, Jason Ludwig admitted to police that he was holding his son in his arms on the couch when he fell asleep. Ludwig then admitted to police that when he woke up, he realized his baby was dead.
According to the criminal complaint, when Ludwig woke up, he found the child near his left leg facing his left hip and lower back area. "He knew (the child) was deceased," police wrote.
"I can only imagine all of the turmoil and headaches and heartache and all the things we're dealing with," Greensburg state police trooper Steve Limani said.
The incident happened on July 21, 2023, at Ludwig's Mount Pleasant Township home.
According to the police report, Ludwig was at home with his three juvenile children and was responsible for their care as his wife was not home. Police said Ludwig reported that he fed the children and they all watched TV while he had around four IPA beers.
He initially reported to police that he fed his son a bottle a formula before putting the child in his crib. Police said Ludwig later admitted to falling asleep on the couch with him.
"There were some inconsistencies in the beginning of the investigation compared to where we ended up finding out that for sure that the child unfortunately ended up underneath part of the father while the father had fallen asleep," Limani said.
Police said when Ludwig woke up and realized the child was dead, he went upstairs to change his diaper and onesie before calling 911.
Police said they seized a onesie from the child's room where it was found with feces and vomit on it.
"It's one of the harder cases in talking to the investigator that he ever had to work through because of all the factors. You have a parent that had no intention of doing anything wrong and just with a little bit of negligence, you had the most horrific thing happened that you could have," Limani said.
The child was rushed to Latrobe Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Case highlights importance of child sleep safety
Police and local parenting agencies are now stressing the importance of sleep safety so an incident like this doesn't happen again.
"You always want to have a completely separate space for the baby to sleep in. It's always comfortable and convenient to just put the baby in bed beside you, but it's just so, so dangerous," said Cristal Evans, the executive director of Life-Way Family & Pregnancy Support.
She said the baby should be alone in a bassinet or crib with a firm mattress.
"No blankets. No stuffed animals, nothing. Nothing extra in the sleeping space," Evans said.
Evans said it's important to keep those items away from a child as they could suffocate.
"They can't roll over yet. They can't push themselves up to get themselves out of a dangerous situation," Evans said.
She said if you're tired and feel you could fall asleep while you're holding your baby, get up and walk around, move the child to their crib or call a babysitter or friend to help while you rest.
"Our condolences go out to the family. I know they're going through a lot. Unfortunately, there was some negligence and I think as a community, we can all try and remember to just be vigilant. If we start to get tired and we have our infant with us, we need to get them to a safe place," Limani said.
Ludwig now faces several charges, including concealing the death of a child, tampering with evidence and obstruction.
He's currently out on an unsecured bond.
