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Autopsy: Child died of asphyxiation

Father claims he found boy dead with plastic bag over head

Steven A. Killion Sr.

By LANA MUTHLER

lmuthler@lockhaven.com

LOCK HAVEN — The little boy’s father said he gave his son a zip-top, gallon-size plastic bag with cereal in it and shut the 29-month-old in his bedroom with the plastic bag between 5:30 and 6 p.m. on May 28, 2017.

When he checked on the boy at about 8 a.m. the next day, the father said, he found the child dead, with the plastic bag over his head.

That’s what Steven Allen Killion Sr. told police about his son, Steven A. Killion Jr.’s death, which an autopsy ruled was due to asphyxiation.

Toni Baker

Killion, 37, and the boy’s mother, Toni Baker, 36, were arrested Wednesday and have been charged with involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person. They are also accused of neglecting Baker’s 14-year-old son.

Arraigned before District Judge John Maggs, Baker and Killion are incarcerated at the Clinton County Correctional Facility on $125,000 monetary bail.

Charges were filed by Lock Haven City Police following a lengthy investigation into the child’s death, which occurred in Apartment 6 at 415 E. Church St., where the family of five lived.

Also living there was Baker’s 14-year-old son, who is autistic, and the couple’s other child, a 5-year-old girl.

The criminal complaint paints a picture of a family living in a scantly furnished apartment and a couple who were grossly negligent in taking care of their children.

It also includes cell phone conversations between Killion and Baker that indicate Baker was having a difficult time dealing with the youngsters, and had in fact abused the children, at one point even threatening to kill them.

“I gave him four more Melatonin and four ibuprofen. Laugh all you want, when I go to the mental hospital for killing the kids it won’t be funny. You’re going to see me on ‘Snapped.’ His door is broken. I tried locking him in… it doesn’t lock. He’s smacking me and I beat his ass. This sucks. I wish —–‘s money would come in. I’m going to suffocate —-. I’m done, you need to come home. I can’t handle these kids. I’m ready to strangle them. I’m serious, tell your supervisor you need overnights. I can’t do this with them acting this way. I’m at my worst. I just threw —– down on the ground and started punching the shit out of him,” is a portion of what Baker said to Killion in one conversation. Baker also repeatedly referred to the teenager banging his head in the phone conversation.

The following information is taken from the criminal complaint:

City police were dispatched to 415 E. Church St., Apartment 6, at 8:25 a.m. on May 29, 2017 for a report of a 3-year-old in full cardiac arrest. When police arrived they found emergency personnel doing CPR on the male child on the living room floor. Steven Killion Sr. and Toni Baker were there. The child was taken to Lock Haven Hospital by ambulance and was officially pronounced dead at 9:50 a.m.

When asked what happened, Killion said that he gave the child a plastic bag with cereal in it before going to bed the night before. He said they usually take the bag from the child when they check on him later in the evening but forgot to do that last night… specifically, Killion said they take the bag from him so he won’t suffocate. Killion said he went upstairs this morning and found the child lying on the floor with the bag over his head.

When interviewed later in the day, Killion said he “gave the victim a plastic bag with cereal in it and shut the victim in his bedroom with the plastic bag.” Killion Sr. said the victim would then put himself to bed after he played for a little bit and would fall asleep on the bed or on the floor.

Killion said he awoke the next morning and heard the victim playing upstairs and also heard the 14-year-old banging his head. Killion said he fell back asleep. When he awoke about 8 a.m., Killion said, he went to get the victim up and found the boy lying on his back on his bedroom floor with a plastic bag over his head. Killion took the boy downstairs, and Baker called 911 approximately five minutes later because they couldn’t immediately find a working house phone, although they have three house phones and two cell phones.

Killion said when he carried the victim downstairs he also brought down two plastic bags from the victim’s room. One of the bags was the bag that was on the boy’s head and the other one had been in the victim’s room from the previous night. There were three one-gallon-size zip bags in the living room. Killion confirmed that two of those bags were the bags he brought downstairs. Killion said the victim sleeps in normal clothing because he will sometimes take his diaper off and smear feces on the walls or window.

Killion said the teenager is severely autistic and is non-verbal, and has previously had to get staples in his head due to his cracking his head open on the floor.

Interviewed at the same time by other officers, Baker gave the same story as Killion about the boy going to bed with a plastic bag and cereal. She said Killion checked on the boys about 9 p.m. but forgot to take the zip-top bag from the victim. Baker said Killion went to get the boys up around 8 a.m. the next morning and he was upstairs for about 10 minutes when she heard banging. Killion then started yelling and carried the victim downstairs. She said the boy was not breathing and was bluish in color.

On May 29, 2017, a search warrant was executed at the apartment. During the search, two one-gallon-size, plastic zip-top bags were recovered from the living room. Police walked through the apartment which includes a living room, kitchen/dining room, laundry room, bathroom and storage closet. On the second floor there are four bedrooms, one for each child and one for the parents.

In the victim’s room there is one single piece of furniture, a small plastic toddler bed. There were no sheets or pillow on the bed. There were stains on the wall and window that appeared to be dried feces. There were very few toys on the floor and there were pieces of cereal all over the floor. In another bedroom, there was a bed on the floor with a large stain in the middle of the mattress. There were no pillows on the bed. There were also pieces of cereal on the floor and bite marks on the blinds on the window. There were crayon marks/drawings all over the walls and closet door. In the third child’s bedroom, there was a single mattress with no bedding, and a few items of clothing, a fleece blanket and an empty one-gallon-size zip bag on the floor. There were also pieces of cereal all over the floor.

The two plastic bags found in the living room were later sent to the Pennsylvania State Police Laboratory for testing. The victim’s DNA was found on the outside of both of the bags and on the inside of one of the bags.

On May 31, 2017, an autopsy was performed on the victim by Dr. Harry Kamerow at J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital in Huntingdon. Dr. Kamerow determined that the cause of death was asphyxia. He listed the child’s height at 35 inches and his weight as 28 pounds.

The charge of involuntary manslaughter is a felony of the second degree, which alleges that the defendant performed an act, either lawful or unlawful, in a reckless or grossly negligent matter that caused the death of another person as a direct result.

Endangering the welfare of a child is a misdemeanor of the first degree that alleges a parent or guardian or other person supervising the welfare of a child under 18 years of age, knowingly endangered the welfare of the child by violating the duty of care, protection or support.

Recklessly endangering another person is a misdemeanor of the second degree that alleges a person recklessly engaged in conduct that placed, or may have placed, another in danger of death or seriously bodily injury.

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