Parents could face charges for SIDS death

UNIONTOWN, Pa., Sept. 18 (UPI) -- A western Pennsylvania coroner's jury has recommended charging a couple, whose infant died of sudden infant death syndrome, with neglect and child endangerment.

Authorities in Fayette County say their investigation found that Lily Marie Martin, who was almost 3 months old when she died in June, was probably a victim of sudden infant death syndrome and showed no signs of physical abuse or neglect, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported. But they say that Jennifer Gaster and Daniel Martin had been drinking and using cocaine the night the baby died.

Gaster told police that she fell asleep while breast-feeding and found the baby's unresponsive body between her legs when she woke in the morning.

State Trooper Joseph Panepinto testified on the 911 call and on a statement Gaster made in an interview days later. The call was made by a friend but Gaster can be heard in the background talking about how drunk she had been the evening before, the Tribune-Review said.

"When I asked her, 'Do you think you maybe had too much to drink?' she said, 'Yeah, I think I had too much. I had a buzz,'" Panepinto said, talking about the July 1 interview.