Western PA Pair Charged In 3-Year-Old Child's Overdose Death

MERCER COUNTY — A man and a woman have been charged in connection with the fatal overdose of a 3-year-old boy earlier this year.

Pennsylvania State Police said on Monday that authorities were dispatched to a home in the 190 block of Columbia Avenue in Greenville on June 27 for reports of an unresponsive child.

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When police arrived, they found the boy dead in the living room.

Police said that upon completion of an investigation by the Mercer County Coroner's Office, it was determined that the boy's death was caused by illicit drug toxicity and the manner of death was ruled a homicide.

The police investigation determined that two adults in the home, Felicesha Hardman, 32, and Wade "Manny" Daniels, 35, were involved in purchasing, using and selling various controlled substances in the residence.

Police said that on the night before the unidentified boy died, the pair traveled to purchase a controlled substance before returning home.

The pair later admitted to misplacing or losing the controlled substance somewhere at the residence in the early morning hours of June 27. Police did not disclose the relationship the couple had with the boy, but noted that he was under their care at the time.

After consulting with the Mercer County District Attorney's Office, police charged Hardman and Daniels with criminal homicide, involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child, reckless endangerment and other drug-related charges.

Warrants were out for the pair's arrest on Sunday when they were involved in a crash in West Salem Township. Both were flown to a trauma center in Ohio for treatment of life threatening injuries.

Daniels was subsequently released from the hospital and taken into custody by the Mahoning County Sheriffs Office on a pre-existing arrest warrant in Mahoning County. Hardman remains under medical care for serious injuries.

Police said that both will be extradited back to Mercer County to be arraigned on the numerous charges facing them.