• You must be logged in to see or use the Shoutbox. Besides, if you haven't registered, you really should. It's quick and it will make your life a little better. Trust me. So just register and make yourself at home with like-minded individuals who share either your morbid curiousity or sense of gallows humor.

Sugar Cookie

Veteran Member
Bold Member!
State Police in Westmoreland County have filed charges against a man in the death of an 11-month-old child.

Derrick Anthony Bass, 29, who goes by the nickname Hector has been captured.

Bass is charged with homicide, abuse of a corpse, theft, receiving stolen property and tampering with evidence.

The baby was found inside the Laurel Hill housing complex on Gurley Drive late Saturday night. Police say the infant was unresponsive and cold to the touch.

According to state police, Bass had only been in a relationship with the little girl’s mother for a short time. He was watching the baby, named Niomie Miller, and two of his own children at the home while the girl’s mother was at work.

When he didn’t show up to get her from work, the woman found a ride home. But when she got inside, no one was there and some of her electronics were missing.

State police say he called her at one point to say he had been stopped by law enforcement in Washington County, but investigators determined that was a lie.

The girl’s mother called police again after midnight to say she found the girl covered in blankets in her playpen. The Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office was then also called to the scene, pronouncing her dead.

Police say they were able to recover the egg's stolen electronics.
 
Last edited:
She noticed the electronics gone... Was probably furious... THEN I assume she checked on her kid and realized what he had done. I can't imagine!!!
 
January 7, 2020
A Uniontown man accused in the 2019 death of Niomie Miller was charged in connection with injuries to his 14-month-old son, according to court papers.

Derrick A. Bass, 29, was watching the boy in Monessen in October 2018 when police said the child was hurt.

Bass is scheduled to be arraigned on new charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment.

Police said in court papers they were investigating a reported assault at a Manown Street apartment involving Bass and his girlfriend on Oct. 12, 2018, when they noticed the boy’s injuries.

The child had bumps on his head, red marks on his neck and small cuts to the back of his head. Police said in court papers that the boy didn’t respond to police or caseworkers who tried to engage with him.

He was taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh where a doctor said the boy had injuries indicative of physical abuse after being in the care of his father for eight hours. The injuries included multiple facial and scalp bruises as well as hand lesions associated with healing burns, medical records showed.

Bass has been held at the Westmoreland County Prison without bail since August on homicide and related charges in connection with the July 13 drowning death of 11-month-old Niomie Rose Miller.

Bass was watching Niomie while her mother was at work. Police said Bass and the girl’s mother had just started dating. When the mother returned home from work, she found Niomie’s body underneath blankets in a playpen.

Bass fled to Ohio and authorities eventually tracked him down there. Police said Bass took two televisions, 27 DVDs and personal documents from the apartment.

No court action has been set in the homicide case.
1590190224121.png
 
Last edited:
A Fayette County man will serve up to 40 years in prison for the death of an 11-month-old girl who drowned while in his care, prosecutors said.

Derrick A. Bass, 31, pleaded guilty to a lesser count of third-degree murder of Niomie Miller. Police said the baby's body was discovered July 13, 2019, by her mother under a blanket in a playpen when she returned home from work at the Laurel Hill Apartments near Scottdale.

Sarah Miller had been dating Bass for just a few days when she left her daughter at home to be cared for by Bass, authorities said.

Bass was arrested several days later near Cleveland and initially denied any involvement in the baby's death, claiming he left the child with a neighbor. According to court records, he eventually told police the baby was unresponsive while in his care and that he ran water on her face and back in an attempt to revive her, then left the home with his two children, two televisions and 27 DVDs.

"It was a tough decision to make," defense attorney Jack Manderino said of Bass' decision to plead guilty. "I don't think he intended for the child to die. He's actually a really likeable person."

Manderino said Bass accepted the plea deal to avoid a potential life prison sentence had he been convicted of first-degree murder.

In addition to the murder count, Bass pleaded guilty to charges of abuse of a corpse, theft and receiving stolen property.

The deal, approved by Westmoreland County Judge Scott Mears, calls for Bass to serve 20 to 40 years in prison, the maximum allowed for third-degree murder.

District Attorney John Peck conceded it would be difficult for a jury to convict Bass of first-degree murder.

"He admitted to being the person who caused this child's death. He did not say exactly what he did," Peck said, noting Bass never told police how the child drowned. "It would have been problematic to prove he had an intent to kill the child."

Bass offered no explanations for his actions. He only spoke briefly to tell the judge he pleaded guilty because it was in his best interest to do so.

In addition to the murder case, Bass is facing charges in five other criminal cases, including one in which police claim he hurt his 14-month-old son in 2018.

In that case, filed last year, Bass was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment. Monessen police said the boy suffered injuries to his head and neck consistent with physical abuse after he was in father's care for more than eight hours.

Manderino told the judge Bass likely was to plead guilty to the charges with the understanding that he will not receive additional prison time.
 
Back
Top