Parents charged in Washington County toddler’s 2023 death

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — The parents of a toddler who died in Washington County in 2023 are being charged for his death.

Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh announced the charges against Brooke Whitehead, 32, and Ryan Whitehead, 32, on Wednesday.

Brooke was charged with criminal homicide, among other charges, and Ryan was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. They were both arraigned on Wednesday.

A criminal complaint alleges Charleroi police were sent to the couple’s home on Prospect Avenue on Oct. 24, 2023, for a 14-month-old child who wasn’t breathing. The boy, Paxton, was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

The complaint states officers who first responded to the home were informed of “markings” on the child, which were documented as multiple bruises on his face, neck and chest.

Through an autopsy, it was determined that the child died from blunt force trauma to the head, torso and extremities. The autopsy also found recent skull fractures and long bone fractures in various states of healing.

The complaint states Brooke was the only adult home on the day of her child’s death, but Paxton would have also been in Ryan’s custody when some of the other injuries happened.

“That’s how he woke after I tried to wake him from his nap. That’s how I found him,” said Brooke Whitehead outside of her arraignment. “You’d never hurt your baby?,” asked Cara Sapida.

“No, I have not. I have other children I would never hurt or harm.”

Police say Ryan was at work the evening Paxton became unresponsive and later died. Medical records show Ryan was the parent who took Paxton to his doctor’s appointments.

“He was a good baby. He cried here and there. The doctor said he would get used to it once he figured out why and what he wants,” said Brooke.

“But you don’t know what caused his injuries?” asked Cara Sapida.

“No, I do not,” Brooke replied.

Brooke is being held in the Washington County Jail without bond.

A preliminary hearing has not yet been set for Brooke or Ryan.

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