Authorities charge parents in death of 15-month old
A preliminary autopsy has revealed a 15-month-old girl died of dehydration and malnutrition in a Point Marion home littered with animal and human feces, ripped open trash bags and cigarette butts, according to authorities in Fayette County. State police were summoned to 601 Morgantown St. after Fayette County 911 received a call that Madison Violet Dodson was unresponsive in her parents’ home in the early morning hours of Thursday.
Her parents, Robert Dodson, 55, and Tammy Bohon, 35, each face charges of criminal homicide and endangering the welfare of a child.
“This is a tragic situation as well as a tragic death of a 15-month-old,” District Attorney Jack R. Heneks Jr. said.
Trooper Timothy Kirsch, the lead investigator on the case, said that the entire house was strewn with garbage, including dirty diapers.
“One room was completely full of dirty clothes and toys,” Kirsch said.
He indicated that Robert Dodson and Bohon, who had been together for 17 years, have seven other children together. Madison Dodson was the youngest, and the oldest, Kirsch said, is 16 years old.
He indicated that all of the other children were taken from the home and turned over the care of the county’s Children and Youth Services.
Madison Dodson was a “critical care case” when she was brought home from the hospital, Kirsch said, but he declined to get into further details about what specific health problems the toddler had.
Heneks said Dodson’s body was taken to forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril H. Wecht Thursday afternoon. While other tests are pending, Heneks said that Wecht determined that the baby died from dehydration, malnutrition and “several secondary causes.”
While the child did have other health issues, Heneks said that the charge of criminal homicide encompasses several charges.
That includes both intentional and reckless conduct, which can differentiate between murder and manslaughter.
“Since we’re filing these charges, we believe their (the child’s parents’) conduct led to the death of Madison,” Heneks said.
The couple was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Ronald Haggerty.
They were remanded to the Fayette County Prison without bond, as is typical in all homicide cases.