Vigil held for little girl found dead in her home
Police allege the father of a 15-month-old girl found dead in their Point Marion home Thursday had left the child to sleep on the living room floor amongst animal feces and garbage, while the toddler’s mother was smoking crack cocaine in Masontown.
State police Trooper Timothy Kirsch said Robert David Dodson, 55, and Tammy Jo Bohon, 35, both of Point Marion, were each charged before Magisterial District Judge Ronald Haggerty Jr. with criminal homicide and endangering the welfare of a child following the death of their daughter, Madison Violet Dodson.
A few family members held an impromptu vigil for Madison Dodson Saturday night outside Robert Dodson and Bohon’s residence at 601 Morgantown Road.
“They are making them (Robert Dodson and Bohon) out to be monsters but they weren’t,” Michelle Costello, Madison Dodson’s cousin said. “The point is that Madison is not here anymore and I can’t take her with me anymore and I can’t hold her anymore. I’ve lost her.”
Several candles were lit in Madison Dodson’s memory and placed in the snow by a few stuffed animals and a hand-made sign memorializing the young girl.
“I miss her so much,” Amber Miller, 14, of Morgantown said of her younger cousin. “I will never forget the first step she took. I will never forget her. I loved that baby with all my heart.”
A preliminary autopsy conducted by forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril H. Wecht revealed the girl died of dehydration and malnutrition at the residence that police said was littered with animal and human feces, ripped open trash bags and cigarette butts.
According to Kirsch, officers were called to the couple’s residence at 601 Morgantown St. after Fayette County 911 received a call that Madison Dodson was unresponsive early Thursday.
Fayette County Deputy Coroner Philip Rishel pronounced Madison Dodson dead at the residence at 7 a.m.
Madison Dodson was a “critical care case” when she was brought home from the hospital, Kirsch said, but did not elaborate.
According to the complaint filed in the case, Robert Dodson said his daughter had a feeding tube that had dislodged from her body the night before.
Robert Dodson told investigators that he had been meeting away from his residence with a family member to discuss bills when Bohon called him and told him about the tube and also advised him that their daughter was repeatedly vomiting and defecating, Kirsch said.
Robert Dodson told police that he then returned to the residence around 5 p.m. only to find Bohon had left the home and Madison Dodson and his other children were in the care of his oldest child, who is 16, Kirsch said.
Kirsch said Robert Dodson and Bohon, who have been together for 17 years, have seven other children together. Madison Dodson was the couple’s youngest child.
Kirsch said that Robert Dodson then tried to repair his daughter’s feeding tube but did not have the proper equipment.
He told police that he found a substitute piece of equipment to temporarily fix the feeding tube and then placed Madison Dodson on the living room floor for the night around 11 p.m.
Kirsch said that Robert Dodson told investigators that when he awoke shortly after 5 a.m., he found his daughter unresponsive.
Kirsch said that while police were at the home Thursday, Bohon arrived around 11 a.m.
She told police that she had left her daughter in the care of her oldest daughter around 3:30 p.m. because she knew Robert Dodson was on his way home.
Kirsch said Bohon told police that she didn’t intend to be gone from her home long when she left Wednesday afternoon and “figured that she would take Madison Dodson to the hospital later.”
Instead, Kirsch said Bohon met up with a man in Masontown where she smoked crack and then fell asleep.
Kirsch said that Bohon also told police that her cell phone died so she wasn’t able to check on her daughter’s condition.
While noting that 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 at a press conference Thursday.
Kirsch said the couple’s other children were taken from the home and placed in the care of Fayette County Children and Youth Services.
Costello said that while Robert Dodson and Bohon were not monsters or murderers, they were able to fool CYS officials by “putting on a good show” when visits were made and admitted that Bohon’s drug addiction was an ongoing issue.
“She had gotten clean but was using again and we just didn’t know how bad the situation was,” Costello said.
Both Dodson and Bohon were placed in the Fayette County Prison without bond following their arraignments Thursday.
Preliminary hearings will be held at a later time for the couple before Magisterial District Judge Randy S. Abraham.