Jun 24, 2009 4 min read

A Uniontown woman accused of beating her 3-month-old son to death with a piece of crib will have her day in court after a preliminary hearing Tuesday. Officer David J. Rutter said Lori Beth Workman, 25, of 8 Varndell St. was charged earlier this month before Magisterial District Judge Joseph M. George Jr. with criminal homicide and endangering the welfare of children. Rutter said that Workman allegedly used a piece of the infant’s crib to repeatedly strike her son, Homer W. Workman, in the head in August, resulting in the infant’s death the following month.

The child was found dead in his crib at his parents’ home in September.

Senior Magisterial District Judge Michael Rubish held both charges for Fayette County Court Tuesday following testimony from Rutter and Fayette County Coroner Dr. Phillip E. Reilly.

Rutter testified that police were called to Uniontown Hospital by the coroner’s office shortly after noon Sept. 22 for a report of a dead child.

Rutter testified that after Eric Workman Sr. and Lori Beth Workman found their son unresponsive, both parents attempted to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation to no avail and then called 911.

Reilly told Fayette County Assistant District Attorney Jack R. Heneks Jr. that the boy was pronounced dead at Uniontown Hospital around noon.

Rutter testified that officers initially searched the Workman’s home and discovered pieces of tape in and around the crib, in the child’s safety seat and on a pacifier.

During questioning by police on the afternoon of Sept. 22, Rutter testified that both parents admitted to taping a pacifier in Homer Workman’s mouth when they put him to bed on Sept. 21 and said that it was a common practice for them to do so, Rutter said.

Rutter testified that both parents were unable to explain the child’s death and Rutter said that the practice of taping the pacifier in the baby’s mouth had raised suspicions among investigators.

“At that point, we got a written statement from the baby’s parents because it appeared that the most logical explanation was that the baby had suffocated,” Rutter said.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht was called to perform an autopsy on Homer Workman. Reilly testified that the autopsy revealed that the child’s brain was not properly developed and he had a fractured skull and broken ribs.

The case then remained open for eight months as Rutter, Wecht and Reilly conducted further investigation.

Rutter testified that on May 28 he received the final report from Reilly, Wecht and forensic pathologist Dr. Lucy Rork-Adams of Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia regarding the infant’s death.

Reilly testified that the report indicated that a blow or blows to the head caused the infant’s death and he listed the manner of death as homicide.

Rutter testified that he then interviewed Lori Beth and Eric Workman at Fayette County Children and Youth Services regarding their son’s death.

Rutter testified that Lori Beth Workman confessed to squeezing the infant during a walk in Uniontown and also allowing his head to repeatedly strike the handle of a baby stroller during another walk. In both instances, Lori Beth Workman told police that she was angry because her husband was not helping care for their children, Rutter testified.

Rutter testified that Lori Beth Workman then told police that on Aug. 20 she and her husband were moving into their Varndell Street home and that she was alone with the children assembling Homer Workman’s baby crib.

Lori Beth Workman told Rutter that she became angry because Homer Workman would not stop crying, Rutter testified.

She then told investigators that she used a piece of the crib to strike Homer Workman in the head two times, Rutter said.

She also told police that she didn’t tell her husband about the incident because she knew he would be upset, Rutter testified.

Throughout the testimony, Lori Beth Workman kept her head lowered and often covered her ears.

A bond reduction request by public defender Mary Campbell Spegar was denied by Rubish and Lori Beth Workman was remanded to the Fayette County Prison without bond. Lori Beth Workman, 25, of Uniontown is escorted by Uniontown police officer David J. Rutter to the office of Magisterial District Judge Michael Rubish Tuesday morningfor a preliminary hearing in the death of her 3-month-old son. Robert Esquivel/Herald-Standard