Charleroi mother ordered to stand trial for homicide in 14-month-old boy's beating death

After an autopsy revealed that 14-month-old Paxton Whitehead's body was "beaten and broken" leading up to his death last October, his mother offered various excuses on how he was injured, including blaming his young stepbrothers who also lived in their Charleroi house.

After Paxton died on Oct. 24, 2023, from blunt force trauma to his head, torso and extremities, Brooke Whitehead initially told Charleroi Regional police investigators that she was the only adult in the house and was unsure what happened to the boy.

But the autopsy the following day showed numerous skull fractures that led to a fatal brain bleed, along with severe bruising on the boy's face and multiple broken bones in his extremities that were in various stages of healing. That prompted Charleroi Regional police Detective David Kimball to reinterview Whitehead and ask her about the severity of the child's injuries.

Whitehead offered four scenarios, all of which centered around the two pre-adolescent stepbrothers, but seemed to be inconsistent with each other and made little sense, Kimball testified during her preliminary hearing Tuesday afternoon in connection with the child's death.

Investigators did not believe her story, and charged the 32-year-old mother last month with homicide, child endangerment and three counts of aggravated assault.

Her husband, Ryan Whitehead, 32, faces one felony charge of child endangerment. His preliminary hearing was held at the same time in Washington County Central Court, although he is not considered a suspect in the child's death since he was in Maryland working when the abuse is believed to have occurred.

Charleroi firefighter Matthew Prentice testified that he was the first emergency responder to arrive at 114 Prospect Ave. in the borough for a call of a person not breathing. He found Paxton lying face up on the couch, but the boy was not breathing or responsive. He attempted to revive the child and brought him to a waiting ambulance for further treatment.

He immediately noticed severe bruising above the child's eyes and other injuries, prompting him to inform medics and police officers of possible abuse. The baby was eventually pronounced dead at Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital in Carroll Township.

Photographs of the deceased child were displayed in court during the hearing and showed dark bruises above both eyes, along with other serious injuries. Both parents, who were shackled and wearing orange prison jumpsuits while seated next to their attorneys, looked down at the defense table while the photographs were shown on a large television screen in court.

Dr. Jen Hammers, the pathologist who performed the autopsy, testified through video conferencing that the boy had multiple injuries visible on the surface of the skin, such as bruises, abrasions and discoloration. The autopsy revealed multiple fractures to the back of the baby's skull, which caused bleeding on the brain and likely led to the child's death, she said. The autopsy also found numerous broken bones to the boy's legs and several on one arm, which were in various stages of healing, meaning the abuse had happened over some time.

"So we're talking about a 14-month-old whose bones were broken, and broken again, and broken again?" District Attorney Jason Walsh asked.

"Yes, there were various fractures that were in different processes of healing," Hammers said.

"Would the child be in a significant amount of pain?" Walsh asked.

"Yes, the injuries would cause a significant amount of pain," Hammers said.

Hammers added that the injuries to the child's head did not come from an object, but likely a broad structure or surface. She said she also discovered injuries behind both knees.

District Judge Eric Porter, who presided over the hearing, at one point briefly closed his eyes and placed his left hand to cover his face while listening to the testimony.

Brooke Whitehead's defense attorney, Chad Snyder, said the autopsy was not clear when the fatal injuries occurred, so he argued there is no indication who could have caused them. But Porter disagreed, and ordered Whitehead to stand trial on all charges. She is being held at the Washington County jail while she waits for her case to proceed through the court.

Ryan Whitehead's defense attorney, Jake Mihalov, argued that the child endangerment charge should not stand against his client since he was working at a job site in Maryland when the child died, and also when the injuries likely occurred.

"One thing is clear, it wasn't Mr. Whitehead," Mihalov said. "This is a tragedy. He's driving six hours each way (to Maryland) to work 40 hours. ... Mr. Whitehead has been through this. He's grieving, his family is grieving."

Walsh countered that the extent of injuries to the child over a lengthy period of time showed culpability for the father's role in what happened to the child.

"This baby was beaten and broken," Walsh said. "Not once, not twice, but multiple times during his young life."

Porter agreed with Walsh and ordered Whitehead to stand trial on the one felony charge, and sent him back to the Washington County jail without bond.