Aug 19, 2022 3 min read

The Canonsburg parents whose infant girl died under suspicious circumstances last week were arrested Friday morning after they were found hiding in the attic crawl space of a Canton Township home.

James May IV and Shannon McKnight had to be physically removed from the house at 409 Wayne St. after county detectives and probation officers learned that the two were hiding there more than a week after the death of their 3-month-old daughter, Navaeah.

District Attorney Jason Walsh declined to say how investigators found the couple or whether the residents of the house will face charges for harboring them in the days since Navaeah’s death. Walsh said they were found in the rafters above a bedroom in the home.

“They had to be removed,” Walsh said when asked if the couple cooperated when investigators arrived at the house.

Navaeah died at an area hospital in the early hours of Aug. 11 after the parents called 911 to report that she was unresponsive inside their house at 1105 First St. in Canonsburg. The girl’s 16-month-old brother, who was only identified in court documents by his initials of K.M., was found to have cocaine and fentanyl in his urine after it was tested during a wellness check at UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh.

May, 31, and McKnight, 23, were charged the following day with child endangerment, reckless endangerment, drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia in relation to the drugs found in the boy’s system. Canonsburg police said they found a glass crack cocaine pipe in an open nightstand drawer next to the bed where the parents and children slept, along with drugs and other paraphernalia in the house.

Walsh said they are still awaiting toxicology results from the girl’s autopsy to determine how she died and whether the parents should face charges in her death.

After Navaeah’s death, the parents initially spoke to investigators and a Washington County Children & Youth Services caseworker. However, they disappeared the following day and had been on the run since Aug. 12. The parents did not attend Navaeah’s funeral Thursday, Walsh said.

It was not known how long they were at the Canton Township house during that time.

“They knew each other,” Walsh said of the couple and the home’s residents, without elaborating on how they were related.

The older sibling recovered and has been in the care of authorities since last week. It was not known how long CYS was overseeing the family, and agency Director Anne Schlegel said she could not discuss specifics of the case or why the agency was involved.

“Although I am unable to make comment on any particular case, what I can tell you is community involvement is important in recognizing and preventing child abuse,” Schlegel said in a written statement. “Community members play an important role in a child’s life. Our community can be the most powerful resource for preventing child abuse and neglect and supporting families. Getting to know your neighbors and offering support, helping a parent or family in stress by baby-sitting or suggesting community resources, and recognizing and reporting signs of child abuse and neglect to PA Childline at 1-800-932-0313 can help prevent child abuse.”

May and McKnight were arraigned Friday afternoon by District Judge James Saieva Jr. and sent to the Washington County jail without bond due to being a flight risk and the possibility of manslaughter charges eventually being filed, according to court documents. Their preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Aug. 30 before Saieva.