Parents killed their one-day-old baby in hospital maternity room, prosecutors say
New parents allegedly killed their one-day-old baby in the delivery room of a hospital in Pennsylvania, according to prosecutors.
Kevin Canaan, 28, and Yennifer Tavarez-Cepeda, 25, are accused of physically abusing their newborn child May 2 at Tower Health Reading Hospital in West Reading, the Berks County District Attorney’s Office said.
Officers from the West Reading Police Department were called to the hospital on suspicion of child abuse after healthcare workers found a baby boy in medical distress in a private patient recovery room, authorities said.
The baby was flown to Penn State Hershey Medical Center for advanced neonatal care and died there the next day.
An autopsy performed on May 5 revealed that the child died from ‘multiple traumatic injuries’. The forensic pathologist ruled the baby’s death a homicide.
Staff at Penn State Hershey Medical Center told investigators that the newborn’s injuries were not a result of the birthing process and were consistent with physical abuse.
Investigators determined that the child was supervised by his parents in the room when the injuries occurred and that they did not alert hospital staff.
Investigators also noted that the baby’s injuries ‘occurred over a short, well-documented period of time’ after hospital staff performed several medical checks on the child, prosecutors said.
Kevin Canaan, 28, and Yennifer Tavarez-Cepeda, 25, are accused of killing their newborn baby at a Pennsylvania hospital, according to prosecutors.
Parents accused of physically abusing their newborn child May 2 at Tower Health Reading Hospital in West Reading
Criminal charges were filed against Canaan and Tavarez-Cepeda on Tuesday on charges of murder, aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children, the district attorney’s office said.
Shortly thereafter, Canaan, of Reading, and Tavarez-Cepeda, of New York, were taken into custody and transported to the Berks County Sheriff’s Central Processing Center.
Tower Health Reading Hospital was previously recognized as a ‘high performer in obstetric care (uncomplicated pregnancy)’ by US News & World Report. hospital website.
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