Chesco Father, Woman Exposed Child To Fentanyl, Killing Him: DA

WEST CHESTER, PA — A father and another woman have been arrested in Chester County after they exposed the man's young child to drugs last year, killing him, the district attorney's office announced on Tuesday.

Mousa Hawa, 41, and Holly Back, 40, both of Coatesville, have been charged with third degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.

"Parents have a sacred responsibility to care for their children," DA Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe said in a statement. "Day after day, (Hawa and Back) prioritized easy access to drugs over the health and safety of their child, leaving deadly fentanyl within arm’s reach. It is inexcusable. And it is murder."

The incident occurred back on July 26, 2023 at around 2:33 a.m. at a home on the 500 block of East Lincoln Highway in Coatesville.

The home was "littered" with drug paraphernalia, with three empty heroin bags scattered on the floor, numerous medication bottles in a bag, and a shoebox with hundreds of small, half-empty fentanyl bags, police said.

Text messages from the night before the incident showed that Hawa and Back were discussing drug use and how the child knew not to touch their "medicine," as they called the heroin and fentanyl, according to the DA's office.

Hawa was performing CPR on the child when first responders arrived, and several open baggies were in the room near him, police said. He was taken to Chester County Hospital were he was pronounced dead within the hour.

Blood and urine samples taken from the child found cocaine and fentanyl in his system. His hair samples also returned positive for fentanyl, indicating that exposure had been ongoing for some time prior to the day he died, according to authorities.

Bail was set at $1 million and both Hawa and Back were booked at Chester County Prison. A preliminary hearing is set for June 12.

If you have any concerns about the safety of a child, call 911 or the Childline at 1-800-932-0313.