Pennsylvania authorities have charged a woman with murder after her 3-month-old daughter reportedly died in a hot car on Tuesday.
Police responded to Emily Weaver’s Columbia home after learning she had not picked up her two children from school. Responding officers found Weaver, 32, unresponsive in a second-story bedroom while her infant daughter was discovered lifeless in a car in the driveway, according to WHP.
The car Weaver’s daughter was found dead in was reportedly locked and had its windows closed. The coroner determined the infant died from exposure caused by the vehicle being in direct sunlight.
According to WPMT, Weaver confessed to using methamphetamine twice between Sunday and Wednesday.
Weaver, who dropped off her two children at school on Wednesday, allegedly told police that she then went home to use meth but could not recall doing so. She also stated that she did not remember anything after returning home from school aside from her stepfather waking her up, WHP reported.
Weaver is charged with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and endangering the welfare of a child. WPMT reported that she has a lengthy criminal history which includes 2018 and 2019 convictions for robbery, endangering the welfare of a child, and drug offenses.
Investigators also claimed Weaver relinquished her parental rights to two of her children in 2021. The deceased baby’s name has not been disclosed. The Daily Voice reported that Weaver remains jailed pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for October 16.
According to No Heat Stroke, Weaver’s 3-month-old daughter is the 27th child to die in a hot car this year. In 2022, 33 children died of vehicular heatstroke.
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[Featured image: Emily Weaver/Lancaster County jail]
