Parents Charged After Daughters Killed by Falling Dresser

The parents of two little girls killed earlier this month when a piece of furniture fell on them have been charged in their deaths.

David Beatty Jr. is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, CBS Pittsburgh reports, after his daughters Brooklyn, 2, and Ryeley, 3, were killed when a dresser fell on them in their Aliquippa, Beaver County, home.

Jennifer Beatty is charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, CBS said.

Beaver County District Attorney Anthony Berosh told WTAE that David Beatty's account of what happened the day the dresser fell on his daughters changed often.

At first, Berosch said, Beatty said he had responded immediately after the piece of furniture fell. But later, Beatty admitted that he had been in the bathroom and it had probably taken 10 to 15 minutes for him to check on the girls after the dresser fell, WTAE said.

The coroner said that if he had checked on them immediately, the girls probably would have survived, CBS said.

At the time of the incident, family members told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the girls had enjoyed climbing on the furniture.

Autopsies revealed that the little girls' causes of death were asphyxiation due to the compression of the chest. 

Two-year-old Brooklyn was pronounced dead on July 4, the day of the incident. Ryeley, 3, died July 6.

Additionally, responding authorities found the conditions of the home were "deplorable," CBS reported, with human fecal matter and used diapers strewn throughout the house. 

David Beatty reportedly told police that he was aware the home was unsafe, but that his wife did not like to clean.