Arrested For DV Update: Advocates Question Manslaughter Charges Against Central Pa. Parents Who Failed To Follow Safe Sleeping Practices

[Sugar Cookie]

I am on the fence about the charges. I wish she never had Gavin so he would not have had to lose his life so senselessly.

At almost 40, Gina Strause gave birth to her first child last year. She said it was a dream come true.

Strause took 10 weeks of maternity leave and worked from home often afterward, wanting to spend as much time as possible with her son Gavin.

He was thriving. The pediatrician applauded her and her husband and told them to “Keep up the good work.”

But the morning of May 8, 2024, when Strause went to his crib, she found him unresponsive, his skin blue and cold to the touch.

Then, after nearly 12 months of grieving his death, another gut punch: the Lebanon County District Attorney’s Office approved two felony charges, including involuntary manslaughter, against Gina and her husband, David Strause.


The reason police cited for the charges? They say she put her son down on his belly to sleep, with stuffed animals in his crib.

In court documents, police said the Strauses failed to follow safe sleeping practices and caused their son’s death — a move which experts told PennLive sets a “chilling” and dangerous precedent for parents in central Pennsylvania and beyond.

State law defines involuntary manslaughter as “the doing of a lawful act in a reckless or grossly negligent manner” that causes the death of another person.

Several babies die across central Pennsylvania each year, often in co-sleeping arrangements or suboptimal sleeping environments, but those tragedies rarely end up in criminal court.

Prosecutors told PennLive they typically require a reckless action beyond not following best practices, such as drug use, to file a criminal case. Safe-sleep and child advocates, meanwhile, expressed shock at the felony case.


“There is no law against placing a baby on his or her stomach to sleep,” said Alison Jacobson, executive director of First Candle, a non-profit organization focused on safe-sleeping education. “How they can charge this family with involuntary manslaughter is completely baffling to me.”

The Strauses said suspicion settled over them immediately after they got to the hospital.

Right after Gavin was pronounced dead, David and Gina said state police arrived and separated them for questioning.

Police said Gina told them she laid Gavin on his stomach after a feeding around 1 to 1:30 a.m. on May 8 because he is a “belly sleeper.”

In an interview with PennLive, Gina said she put Gavin to sleep on his back, following best sleeping practices for newborns. But Gavin was learning how to push himself up with his arms and had gotten into a near-daily habit of rolling himself onto his belly, she said.

The Strauses said police scrutinized every decision they made that day.

“Why’d you call 911 and not your husband?” Gina said police asked about her first call after finding Gavin.

David and Gina said they weren’t allowed to see Gavin after he died. Nurses promised to let them sit with him and say their final goodbyes before the Dauphin County Coroner’s Office took his body.

But Gavin was gone by the time they were finished with questioning, without the Strauses or any extended family members getting the chance to see him

After an autopsy, the Dauphin County Coroner’s Office said Gavin’s death was an accident resulting from complications of suffocation. He had no broken bones or other trauma suggesting abuse, according to the autopsy report. No drugs or alcohol were found in his body.

When they got home from the hospital, the Strauses said they found six or seven state police cruisers lined up on their street. David and Gina gave troopers permission to search their house and take any belongings.

Police said they obtained all of Gavin Strause’s medical records, including instructions sent home by the hospital after his birth that included: “Always put your baby to sleep on their back. Don’t put sleep positioners, bumper pads, loose bedding or stuffed animals in the crib. Have your baby sleep in the same room as you for at least the first 6 months.”

The instructions said bed sharing or stomach sleeping “greatly increase” a baby’s risk of dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDs) or suffocation, according to court documents.

State police said there were multiple loose items in Gavin’s crib with him, including blankets and stuffed animals. Gina said the stuffed animals were at the crib’s perimeter and weren’t within grabbing distance.

The Strauses took Gavin to four pediatrician visits in the 3 months after his birth and were provided with additional paperwork that included safe sleeping practices, according to the affidavit.

Gina said the moments after birth were filled with nurses delivering instruction after instruction and numerous papers to be signed.

“I was overwhelmed,” she said. “I just had a baby.”

She said she did not remember getting sent home with any instructions from the hospital or Gavin’s pediatrician. But at each appointment, the Strauses said Gavin’s doctor was pleased with his growth and told them, “Keep up the good work.”

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They have a gofundme

Donate to Keep the Strause Family United, organized by David Strause

We are the Strause family: David, Gina, Brayden, and Gavin. We are coming to you all with… David Strause needs your support for Keep the Strause Family United

www.gofundme.com

I feel bad but have very little sympathy for her - google now exists.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

A Pennsylvania man was arrested for allegedly attacking his wife while he was set to stand trial in connection with the death of their baby.

David Strause III, 43, was charged with aggravated assault and other charges after he was arrested in connection with an alleged attack on his wife. The Lebanon County District Attorney's Office said in a press release that the alleged incident happened on Tuesday after Strause's wife called 911 at 1:30 a.m. to report that she was being assaulted by her husband. Pennsylvania State Police responded to the couple's home in Fredericksburg, where Strause kept police in a standoff for hours until he finally surrendered at 9 a.m.

The Lebanon Daily News reported that Strause was awaiting trial for involuntary manslaughter charges after his 3-month-old son died of asphyxia in May 2024.

According to the DA, Strause's wife told police that she and her husband were out drinking on the night of Feb. 1 when they started arguing about her ex-boyfriend. They returned home, and Strause pushed her down on their bed. Police said that when Strause's wife tried to get up, he struck her in the face with a gun, causing her lip to bleed.

The DA said Strause's wife ran down to the home's basement to call 911, and Strause chased her. Dispatchers said they heard the couple fighting over the phone, including Strause screaming, "This is how you want it to end, get out!" Strause then reportedly "grabbed her cellphone and smashed it."

As the wife fled the residence, she told police she heard gunshots. Police said they saw the wife's car driving away when they arrived at the scene. They later said they found evidence that shots had been fired at the car.

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Man charged in baby’s death arrested for attacking wife while she called 911: DA

According to the DA, Strause's wife told police that she and her husband were out drinking on the night of Feb. 1 when they started arguing about her ex-boyfriend.

lawandcrime.com