Parents Charged In Charleroi Toddler’s Death

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — The parents of a Charleroi toddler who died in Washington County in 2023 are being charged for the death. Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh has announced the charges against Brooke Whitehead, 32, and Ryan Whitehead, 32.  Brooke is charged with criminal homicide, among other charges, and Ryan is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. A criminal complaint alleges Charleroi police were sent to the couple’s home on Prospect Avenue on Oct. 24, 2023, for a 14-month-old child who wasn’t breathing. The child was later pronounced dead at a hospital. The complaint states officers who first responded to the home were informed of “markings” on the child, which were documented as multiple bruises on the child’s face, neck and chest. Through an autopsy, it was determined that the child died from blunt force trauma to the head, torso and extremities. The autopsy also found recent skull fractures and long bone fractures in various states of healing. The complaint states Brooke was the only adult home on the day of her child’s death, but the child would have also been in Ryan’s custody when some of the other injuries happened. Walsh tells WJPA News that the pair were located Tuesday night in Bellefonte, Pa. and were housed in the Center County Jail before being returned to Washington County.