Members of the Indiana Borough Police Department held a news conference Thursday afternoon detailing an investigation into the death of a nine-month-old infant in Indiana.
Chief Justin Schawl said on January 6, three patrol officers were dispatched around 6:18 p.m. to 28 Regency Square Drive in Indiana for a report of an unresponsive infant. They arrived at the home within three minutes and found that the child had no pulse and was not breathing. Officers, medics, staff at Indiana Regional Medical Center, and the child’s father – who was not named – administered combined CPR and were able to regain a pulse. The child was transferred to Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh but died a few days later.
Through the results of interviews and an on-scene investigation, the child’s mother, 21-year-old Patricia An Hullenbaugh, was taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with Criminal Homicide, Possession of an instrument of crime, endangering the welfare of a child, and strangulation.
An affidavit of probable cause revealed statements made by Hullenbaugh, in which she said a blanket was placed over the child’s head until he stopped crying and when the blanket was removed, he was not breathing. She added that she positioned the body in an effort to hide her involvement before alerting anyone, including the child’s father.
Schawl said the investigation into the incident is on-going.
He also does not expect any additional charges to be filed.
A preliminary hearing for Hullenbaugh is scheduled for February 8.
Assisting the aforementioned agenies were members of the Indiana County District Attorney’s Office, Indiana County Children and Youth Services, PSP-Troop A Criminal Investigations Section, Indiana County Mobile Crisis, and coroner Jerry Overman, Jr.
You can watch the entire news conference below, on our Facebook page, or on Renda Digital TV:
