Canonsburg couple whose infant died of fentanyl poisoning facing death penalty
Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh is pursuing the death penalty against the Canonsburg couple he says “poisoned” their infant baby, who died after ingesting fentanyl in August.
Walsh stated his decision during the formal arraignment Tuesday for James May IV and Shannon McKnight, who are each charged with homicide in the Aug. 11 death of their 3-month-old daughter, Navaeah, while she was sleeping in bed with the couple inside their Canonsburg home.
“This was fentanyl toxicity and in my opinion (she) was poisoned by her parents,” Walsh said.
In notifying the court of his intention to seek the death penalty against the couple, Walsh said he found aggravating factors that the death involved a child under the age of 12 and it happened during the commission of another felony. He also cited a factor that Navaeah’s 16-month-old brother also had fentanyl in his system, but survived.
May and McKnight called 911 for help after they found Navaeah unresponsive while they were sleeping inside their First Street home Aug. 11. The child was taken to Canonsburg Hospital, where she died from fentanyl toxicity.
Their other child, a toddler only identified as K.M. in court documents, also tested positive for drugs in his system after being taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment. It’s still unclear how the children ingested the drugs, but investigators said they found empty stamp bags and paraphernalia inside the bedroom where the family was sleeping.
Afterward, the couple vanished for a week – even missing Navaeah’s funeral – until they were located Aug. 19 hiding in the attic of a Canton Township home.
May, 31, and McKnight, 24, were charged with homicide, child endangerment, reckless endangerment, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, and District Judge James Saieva Jr. ordered them to stand trial following their preliminary hearing Sept. 30. The couple is being held without bond at the Washington County jail while they await trial on the charges.
In addition to this case, Walsh is currently seeking the death penalty against nine defendants in six others cases, including three that involve the deaths of children.
“I think I’ve been consistent about (pursuing) the death penalty … and killing a child deserves the highest level of punishment the law allows,” Walsh said.
McKnight’s court-appointed attorney, Rose Semple, ripped the decision by Walsh to seek the death penalty.
“No one familiar with the situation would believe that this child’s tragic death was caused intentionally, which means that it’s illegal to give my client the death penalty,” Semple said in a written statement Wednesday. “By filing this document, the district attorney is forcing me to go to extreme lengths to defend my client, including needlessly requiring the citizens of Washington County to pay tens of thousands of dollars to ensure her rights.”
May’s public defender, Patrick Fitch, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The formal arraignment for May and McKnight was held in Washington County Court before Judge Valarie Costanzo.