A Shamokin couple has been charged in connection to the death of their death of their baby in 2016.
Derrick Yohe, 29, is charged with criminal homicide, three counts of aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, reckless endangerment, and other offenses. Emily Joy Kirby, 27, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and related offenses, according to criminal complaint affidavits filed by Silver Spring Township Police, who have been investigating the incident since the child’s death on August 16, 2016.
Medical examiners say the child died by asphyxiating on vomit after ingesting edible marijuana, and had suffered a traumatic brain injury “days, weeks, or months” before her death, according to investigators. It was latter news that led to charges being filed against the couple, according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, ambulance crews were called to a home for the report of an infant in cardiac arrest. EMS personnel found Yohe performing CPR on the baby when they arrived, the complaint states. Yohe “continuously” told EMS personnel that the baby, a girl, had been showing signs of life, and had just been biting his finger before EMS arrived.
Police at the scene reported they could smell the odor of burnt marijuana, and the ambulance crew reported the baby displayed signs of rigor mortis as they were treating her en route to West Shore hospital, suggesting the child had been dead for two to four hours.
The baby was declared dead at the hospital about an hour after EMS first arrived at the scene, according to the complaint.
An autopsy performed on the baby indicated she had THC in her gastric fluid, which the examiner told police meant the child had ingested marijuana directly, and not through being exposed to second-hand smoke. The examiner determined that the baby died of complications from asphyxia after vomiting.
The child also had signs of hemorrhages on her face and neck and bruising on her scalp, the autopsy revealed.
Yohe admitted he was the only person caring for the child from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. on the day the baby died, according to the complaint.
Man charged with homicide in connection to baby’s death in Cumberland County in 2016
CUMBERLAND COUNTY — A Shamokin couple has been charged in connection to the death of their death of their baby in 2016, while they were living in Silver S...
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The age of the girl was not identified in the police report, but an obituary was found online that matched the initials provided by police in the report, the date of death and the parents' names of Yohe and Kirby. The child's birth date was Feb. 29, 2016.
An autopsy performed on Aug. 18, 2016, by forensic pathologist Dr. Wayne Ross in Dauphin County showed that the girl was "well built and well-nourished," but had dirt and debris in her hair and folds of her skin. The girl has multiple injuries on her head and neck, and the cause of death was "complications of asphyxia" and the manner ruled as homicide, Ross reported.
The child consumed marijuana by swallowing the substance. The evidence of THC found in the gastric fluid could not have been from second-hand smoke, according to Ross.
The girl's clothing and crib area were wet with urine and saliva. The diaper the girl was wearing was full of urine and fecal matter. Ross reported the amount of bodily fluid on the bedding itself would be consistent with the body excreting during strangulation.
Police also said the house was disorganized and messy, had cat feces on the floor and every room smelled of marijuana. Police found digital scales, marijuana, and brownies lace with marijuana.
Medical records indicate that the girl was born with THC in her system. Kirby admitted to smoking marijuana while pregnant, claiming she did research that told her it was healthy for the baby, police said.
UPDATE Couple charged in death of baby waited an hour to call 911
A Shamokin couple charged in Cumberland County were both high while their five-month-old daughter was dying in her crib after ingesting marijuana and asphyxiating on vomit in 2016, according to
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