Meth-Using PA Mom Charged With Murder After Baby Left In Car: DA

LANCASTER COUNTY, PA — A 3-month-old baby died in Lancaster County on Wednesday after authorities said her mother passed out after using methamphetamine and left her in the backseat of a hot car, according to prosecutors and a report.

Emily Rose Weaver, 32, of Columbia, was charged with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child after police found the unresponsive child in a car located in the 4300 block of Fairview Road in West Hempfield Township, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.

When police arrived, they determined the child was "beyond help" after witnesses said she had been left in the car with the doors and windows closed for an undetermined length of time, prosecutors said. According to authorities, the car was parked in direct sunlight as the temperature Wednesday reached a high of 80 degrees.

The Lancaster County coroner determined the baby died from environmental exposure.

According to court records obtained by PennLive.com, Weaver failed to pick up her children from school Wednesday and was found unresponsive in her bedroom when family members went to check on her.

Weaver told police she remembered her stepfather waking her before she injected methamphetamine into her left arm, PennLive.com reported. She also told police she dropped her children off at school and intended on going home to use meth, but didn't remember doing so, according to the report.

Lancaster County Children and Youth records reviewed by PennLive showed the agency had investigated Weaver multiple times since 2019 due to drug-related activities. According to the publication, Weaver lost her parental rights to two other children in 2021.